


A Fox and Her Kit

by Whadup_5



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, F/M, Families of Choice, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26335576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whadup_5/pseuds/Whadup_5
Summary: Music Maidens quickly rose into being one of the most popular manga series in the world. It's creator, the mysterious Kitsune Red, however, may be in more danger than she realizes, as she's in possession of a miraculous that contains a vengeful spirit that once tried to steal the ladybug and black cat miraculous. Marinette certainly has a lot on her plate this year, especially when there's a shy new girl at school that she befriended before Lila could sink her claws into her.Will Marinette be able to save Kitsune Red? Will Lila turn the new girl against her like she did with the rest of her classmates? Will this new girl ever get over her shyness?(Takes place in an alternate universe where events of season 3 either didn't happen or haven't happened yet.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue: Music Maidens and the Hidden Truth: Part 1

Marinette raised an eyebrow at her friends as she walked toward the school's entrance. Instead of a jab at the fact that she was on time for once, they barely noticed her presence as they had all gathered around Alya.

"Do Tai and Zoya finally get together?"

"You ask that every time, Rose."

"Because it's so obvious that they love each other! They just have to get together! Think of how much stronger they'll be!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Marinette asked as she approached the group.

"The new Music Maidens issue that came out." Alya replied, as if Marinette knew exactly what that was.

Marinette voiced her lack of knowledge. "What's Music Maidens?"

Her friends gasped at her, looking at her as if it had been a crime for daring to ask such a question.

"How do you not know what Music Maidens is?" Alya demanded.

Marinette put her hands up as she gave her defense. "Hey, you're looking at the girl who had no idea who Adrien was until this year."

That appeared to be a fair answer as the girls looked at each other and nodded. Alya, donning a look of professionalism, stepped forward to Marinette and cleared her throat.

"Well then, just like with Adrien, it seems that you need to be educated."

Alya started by showing Marinette a picture of a girl in a fox themed costume on her phone while she explained.

"Music Maidens is this hit manga series written by Kitsune Red, who no one knows the identity of. All we do know is that she's our age, and that she's Japanese-American. Everything else is just random facts about her, but they don't reveal anything."

"Can you believe it? Being our age and already being so successful!" Mylene said in amazement.

Alix nodded. "I know. Go ahead and call me jealous."

Marinette looked up from the photo. "You seem to know a lot about the series."

Alya put on her most humble 'I don't mean to brag' face and replied, "how else am I supposed to keep my blog as up to date as possible?"

Marinette's face twisted up in confusion. "The Ladyblog?" she asked hesitantly.

Having anticipated the question, Alya only needed mere moments on her phone before she turned it back to Marinette. "No, I have other blogs besides the Ladyblog. I also run Maiden's Burrow for all things Kitsune Red and Music Maiden."

The site Alya had opened to was a blog page titled 'Maiden's Burrow'. From the single glance alone Marinette could see that the blog was well put together and had likely taken Alya a lot of her time.

Impressed, Marinette said as she looked up at Alya, "Wow, I bet Kitsune Red really appreciates all your hard work."

To Marinette's surprise, Alya frowned, looking away. "Nope. She actually threatened to have my blog taken down once."

Marinette's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Well, since she's so mysterious, I tried to run a campaign on Instagram and Twitter to get her to reveal who really was," Alya explained. "I figured that if enough people voiced that they wanted to see who she was she'd do a face reveal."

"#takeoffthemask was trending for weeks!" Juleka added.

"You should have seen it, Marinette, it got crazy," Alix commented.

Alya sighed, rolling her eyes. "Until Mama Red, Kitsune Red's mom, threatened to take legal action unless I called off the campaign."

As if a long-sealed can of worms had once again been cracked open, Alya shouted, "I mean seriously! As her devoted audience, don't you think that we have the right to know just who's making the comic?"

Marinette just stared at Alya, uneased. Where just a minute ago she was ready to curse Kitsune Red's name for daring to try and hurt her friend, she now felt herself cheering for the other side just a bit. As gently as possible, she said, "Alya, that's like saying that Paris has the right to know who Ladybug really is just because she saves Paris."

Marinette's worry completely flew over Alya's head, however, "well, they do! Don't think that I've stopped trying to figure out who her and Chat Noir really are," she said with a mischievous smirk.

Marinette sighed, already deciding on trying a different approach. "Alya, if someone values their privacy then they have a right to it! You can't just demand to-"

"Hey, guys!"

And, just like that, The Marinette Thought Train suffered yet another tragic derailment at Adrien Central.

Spinning on her heels so fast she nearly fell over, Marinette quickly straightened herself and greeted Adrien with an unnaturally wide smile "Adrien! Uh...hi!"

The others gave their usual greetings, some smiling in amusement at Marinette's nervousness.

"I heard you guys were talking about Music Maidens," Adrien continued, "Did you guys read the next issue?"

Instantly, Alya's eyes lit up, and she was at Adrien's side within a second. "You read Music Maidens too?" When Adrien nodded Alya cheered, "awesome!" before the two jumped right into a conversation about their favorite character.

"As much as I like Tai as a character, I really relate to Isabell and her character arc in the story."

Before Alya could make a quip about how that was obvious, Marinette suddenly blurted loudly, "she's my favorite too!"

Both Adrien and Alya turned to Marinette, the look on her face clearly portraying that she was suddenly regretting her life choices. But, Adrien, as oblivious as ever, didn't notice and gave Marinette a big smile.

"You read Music Maiden's too, Marinette?"

As if she was hit with the shovel she just dug her own grave with, Marinette's face was frozen in a look of faux joy hastily smeared over pure fear.

While her brain was trying to recover from its emergency shutdown, her mouth decided to fend for itself and continued to move. "Yeah! It's my favorite series! I read it every day!" she said, adding in a nervous laugh to further shoot herself in the foot.

Still, by some miracle, Adrien didn't catch on, and only further beamed at Marinette. Marinette couldn't even enjoy Adrien's wonderful smile as it was quickly followed by, "that's awesome! Do you have a favorite arc?"

Again, Marinette froze up. Like a paused movie, she just blankly at Adrien, her mouth half open in a crooked smile. Thankfully, and Marinette never thought that she'd have to say this, but Chloe jumped in and saved her.

"Adrikins!" Chloe wrapped herself around Adrien's arm, unobservant to his own smile becoming more fake at her presence.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you like Music Maidens. Is that true?"

Adrien nodded, "yeah, you read it too, Chloe?"

Chloe let out a laugh. "Of course I do! It's one of the only books worth reading!"

While Marinette would normally be furious with Chloe dragging Adrien away, it did allow her to regain her bearings.

"I thought that you've never heard of Music Maidens?" Alya asked, the knowing smirk on her face giving away that she already knew the reason.

As she, as well as the other girls expected, Marinette promptly freaked out. "I panicked! I panicked and lied to Adrien!"

Marinette grabbed the sides of her head as the horrible, heavily exaggerated, scenario played out in her mind.

"And when he finds out that I lied about something he enjoys he'll never believe a word I say again! Then I'll never be able to confess my feelings because he'll think that I'm nothing but a liar! And-

"And you'll never get married, have your three kids and a hamster," Alya finished for her, smiling as Marinette grabbed her shoulders and continued to wail, "Alya! You gotta help me!"

Alya sighed, shaking her head in amusement as she grabbed Marinette's wrists and pried her friend off her. "Don't worry, girl, you're looking at the encyclopedia for all things Music Maidens."

Slinging her arm around Marinette's shoulder, Alya began by clearing her throat while the group walked into the school.

"Okay, for some background, the story of Music Maidens starts with two goddesses: Solenna and Lunaria. The two were in love, but one day Lunaria became jealous of Solenna's power, which is way stronger than her own. See, while they're both creation goddesses, Solenna also rules over the domain of song. In the world of Music Maidens, every soul produces a song. The more you understand and accept who you are, the stronger and more elaborate your song can become. Solenna has the ability to play the song within the soul, which she can use to persuade people to do good things or turn them into warriors under her name. Lunaria is trying to gain control of the power of song as well so that she can be as powerful as Solenna. The only problem is that all she ends up doing is corrupting the song within people, turning them into monsters. 'It's like she's trying to play the drums with a pair of flutes,' is how Kitsune Red put it."

Marinette knew that she should be paying attention to today's lesson, and that talking during it would only upset Miss Bustier, but she had to hear everything about Music Maidens. Her love life depended on it! So, while Miss Bustier continued with whatever she was talking about, Marinette listened as Alya whispered about Music Maidens as quietly as she could.

"While Solenna is fighting to try and get through Lunaria's madness, she needs someone to purify the souls of those Lunaria has corrupted. So, she created the anong; powerful creatures that have taken the form of animals and, when bound to a human soul, can allow that human to turn into a music maiden, which is basically a magical girl."

"Alya! Marinette!" Miss Bustier called out angrily, startling the two girls.

With a stern stare Miss Bustier asked, "Would you like to share your important conversation with the rest of the class?"

"No, Miss Bustier. Sorry, Miss Bustier," they frantically replied in unison.

Sighing, Miss Bustier turned back to the board. "Please, pay attention."

And Marinette did so, until ten minutes later when Alya slid a piece of paper over to her before continuing to write like her life depended on it. Marinette was impressed that Alya was able to write so fast, even if it was a bit sloppy.

_Okay, so, now we get to the man characters. Solenna chose these four girls because they're songs were the most compatible to her anong._

_The main-main character is Maya, a 17-year-old girl from Japan who is bound to Vixen, the anong fox of deception. Maya's power is considered to be the deadliest, but she had to catch up to the other girls because she didn't originally want to be a hero. She actually avoids being a hero for two chapters until she begrudgingly accepts it after she meets a little girl and has to save her when she becomes a monster. She didn't like her teammates at first, but they all started to become friends after the Pack of Friends arc._

_Then there's Tai. She's 16 and bounded to Rùa, the anong turtle of protection. Tai is the middle child of 10 other siblings, so she jumped at the chance to do something outside the competition of her siblings. Yes, she also wanted to help people, but it was pretty clear that her main goal was to be different, even if her family couldn't know. She had an ongoing problem of being frustrated for not getting stronger, not realizing that it was because she was so desperate to be different that she's not figuring out who she truly is. That got solved in the My Own Me arc, and she's now the second strongest of the four._

This was starting to sound concerningly familiar, Marinette realized, but she continued reading when another piece of paper was slid over to her.

_Next is Toya, who's 17 and bounded to Lin, the anong snake of subjugation..._

Okay, that was different.

_Toya started out more powerful than the other girls because she had started transitioning prior to when the story began, so she already understood a lot about herself (she's a transgender female btw). While she was the only one who jumped headfirst into helping others purely for helping others, her main issue is that she's very private about everything about her, which is bad for being in a team. See, Solenna worked a bit of magic to have it so that the other girls moved to Japan where Maya lives so that they can get closer to each other and become even stronger. But it took a while for them to be considered friends, outside of how long it took Maya to get close to the other girls._

_It's also strongly implied that she has a crush on Tai, but they're relationship is still more in fanfiction territory._

_Finally, there's Isabelle, Adrien's favorite. She's 18 years old and bounded to Carder, the anong bee of communication. She's still currently the weakest of the four because she grew up in a strict rich family, so she was never allowed to explore who she truly is. Her main arc is that she's trying to figure out who she is outside of who her family tries to force her to be._

"I guess that's why Adrien relates to her so much," Marinette thought.

_So, while there is plenty of action as the girls fight the corrupted people to break through their monster layer in order to find and play their soul song to purify it, it's mainly got a slice of life, found family vibes. As the girls work together to learn and improve themselves, they get stronger. And the closer they become the more powerful they become._

Marinette wrote on the corner of her own paper and slid it over to Alya, stopping her friend in her writing as Alya's eyes looked over the message.

_Wow, that's a lot, Alya._

Smiling, Alya leaned in close to Marinette and whispered, "girl, I haven't even gotten started yet."

And suddenly the school day had ended, and Marinette found herself walking home from Alya's carrying a box of Music Maidens books. While she was grateful that Alya had loaned her the first two story arcs, she wished that it wasn't so heavy.

After Marinette had set the box down on her chair, she barely had enough time to straighten her sore back before Tikki flew out from her bag and looked over her box. Marinette watched as Tikki's expression changed from suspicion, to shock, before settling into anger.

"So that's what you've been up to, _Vixen_." Tikki said, scaring Marinette with how she growled out the name.

"Tikki?" Marinette approached cautiously.

Tikki met her halfway when she suddenly flew into Marinette's face. "We have to find the creator of Music Maidens," Tikki declared.

Marinette blinked. "Kitsune Red? Why?"

"Because her life is in danger!"

"Danger? Tikki, what's going on?"

Tikki lifted up one of the books, this one having all four girls on the cover, and dropped it down on the table. Flying up to the top of the book, she pointed down at the cover.

"These four girls were real people, and the main character, 'Maya', is a vengeful spirit trapped inside of a miraculous!"

Already lost, Marinette moved the box onto the floor so that she could sit down. "Okay, Tikki, start from the beginning. What's going on?"

Tikki sighed before explaining.

"A long time ago, the guardians of the miraculous decided to try brining in and training chosen miraculous users instead of going out to find them. They felt that finding potential user while they're young and training them would lead to more powerful heroes that are loyal to the guardians and would not try and use the miraculous for evil."

She pointed down to the book again.

"These four girls were chosen to wield the fox, snake, bee, and turtle miraculous. They were put together when the guardians had formed teams and had actually done a lot of good for the world."

"But what happened, Tikki?"

Tikki's stare hardened.

"One day... they betrayed the guardians. They used their miraculous to try and use Plagg and I to become more powerful. The guardians, with no other choice, took down three of them, but Vixen had managed to succeed in combining the black cat and ladybug miraculous."

"Like what's Hawk Moth's trying to do?"

Tikki nodded, "yes." She then picked up a pencil and did her best to draw on a nearby scrap of paper. "But Plagg and I decided to punish her for what she had tried to do, so we created another fox miraculous and sealed her soul inside of it. She became more powerful, but at the cost of being held to many of the limitations of us kwami. We also added in that she can't be seen by anyone who isn't a kwami, or wearing her miraculous, and that the only way for the miraculous to be removed is if the wearer either dies, or willingly renounces ownership of the miraculous."

That paused Marinette's ongoing shock, and she raised an eyebrow at Tikki. "Why would you have that as a condition?"

"It was so that it couldn't be stolen from the guardian who was assigned to guard it."

When she was finished, Tikki showed the drawing to Marinette. It looked like how the fox miraculous normally looked but reverse with the tail was now curled around some kind of orb.

"The guardians stopped bringing in holders, and the plan was to have Vixen forever sealed in the guardian temple."

Marinette looked up from the drawing. "But something happened?"

Tikki let out a slow, long, sigh. "One of the newer guardians, who was Vixen's age, had been in love with her. One day, he attacked the guardian who had overseen watching over Vixen's miraculous and stole her away. The guardians tried for years to bring her back, but she kept getting away. She always found new victims..."

Marinette felt her stomach drop. "Victims?"

"She has the full power of illusions. From what I heard from the guardians tasked with bringing her back, she made her victims see horrific things until they either ended themselves alone or took others with them."

There was a long pause between the two, the shock hitting Marinette full force before she finally asked, "how many victims, Tikki?"

Tikki couldn't look Marinette in the eyes. "I don't know at this point. After the guardian temple was destroyed, Master Fu did his best to try and find her, but he was just one guardian."

This was a bit too much for Marinette to try and take in at once. As she tried to wrap her head around what she could possibly be up against, a thought occurred to her. "But...why hasn't she killed Kitsune Red yet? Alya says that Music Maidens has been going on for over two years!

"Vixen knows how to play the long game, Marinette," was Tikki's cold reply. "But it's likely because she wants to be remembered."

"Remembered?"

"After the incident, the guardians did everything in their power to erase the existence of the four girls. One of the guardians even tried a spell to make Vixen forget, hoping that it would help so that they could reform her, but it didn't work. She's likely using Kitsune Red to make this manga for her. I'm afraid that if the manga loses popularity, or the series ends, Vixen may get bored of her and..."

Tikki didn't want to finish the sentence, but Marinette had already dawned the determined stare that made her Ladybug.

"Well, how do we save Kitsune Red?"

"First, we have to find Kitsune Red and get her to willingly give up Vixen's necklace. After that, both Plagg and I have to say her name and set her free. Only then will Vixen be gone for good."

"But, why do we have to get Kitsune Red to give up the necklace?" Marinette asked with another eyebrow raise.

Tikki rubbed her paws together. For a few seconds she looked as if she was trying to answer but could not find the proper words to explain. "It's a little complicated to explain, but the short version is that if we do it before Kitsune Red gives up the necklace, her soul would leave this world along with Vixen's. Vixen had already taken too many lives; I won't allow her to take another with her."

Marinette stood up, cupping Tikki in her hands as she gave the kwami a determined smile. "Well, I won't let that happen either, Tikki. We will save Kitsune Red!"

For the first time all day, Tikki smiled up at Marinette. Her smile faded, though, when a realization hit Marinette.

"But...how would we even do it? Kitsune Red lives in Japan?"

(Left, Kitsune Red. Right, Maya "Vixen")


	2. Music Maidens and the Hidden Truth: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter takes place over a period of time.

"This is perfect, Tikki!"

As if it had come as an answer to her prayers, a month later, Marinette had gotten an email from Kitsune Red asking for a commission.

Tikki, however, held an expression opposite to her enthusiasm. "How? Vixen could come after you too!"

Marinette smirked at Tikki. " _But_ , if I can manage to befriend Kitsune Red and gain her trust, I can convince her to give up Vixen's miraculous!"

Tikki was going to immediately reply, but then took a moment to think it over. When her mind had reached a conclusion, Tikki beamed at Marinette. "Good plan, Marinette! Who wouldn't want to be friends with someone as kind as you!"

A blush came to Marinette's cheeks. "Thanks, Tikki," she said before another thought hit her. "Oh! Speaking of friends, I should tell Alya! She's going to flip when she hears about this!"

Marinette sprinted over to where her phone was charging and quickly unlocked it to get to her messenger app. She had debated telling Alya about being the anonymous designer for Jagged Stone, MDC, for a while now, and this just might be the perfect time to do so! Finding out that her best friend was the mysterious up and coming fashion designer, and that said friend was working with Kitsune Red? This could be the scoop that would skyrocket Alya's career! Marinette opened her messenger app, pulled up her keyboard...but stopped.

"What's wrong, Marinette? Aren't you going to tell Alya?" Tikki asked, having noticed the excitement practically vanish into thin air from Marinette's face.

Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line before existing out of her conversation with Alya and starting a new one.

**_Kitsune Red? Can I ask you a question?_ **

_Who is this?_

**_MDC._ **

_Oh, okay! What did you want to ask?_

**_Would you mind telling me what #takeoffthemask was?_ **

_(Kitsune Red is typing...)_

_Okay, so, it started when this girl who runs a blog called Maiden's Burrow emailed me asking some questions for the blog. I was following the blog at the time, so I answered her questions. She then asked me to do a full-on interview over Webcam, because I live in Japan, but I couldn't because my replacement wig (separate story) hadn't come in yet. I guess that prompted her to ask if I could do a face reveal for the blog. When I repeatedly told her no, she started the hashtag._

_The whole thing was a headache. Whenever I posted anything, the comments were spammed with #takeoffthemask until I blocked the hashtag. My email got flooded, with people going as far as to try and threaten me, so I had to ditch my old email and get two the divert the flow. Thankfully my phone number isn't public, otherwise who knows what can of worms that would have opened._

**_That sounds horrible._ **

_It was. The whole thing got ridiculous, but this is when the line was drawn in the sand._

Kitsune Red then sent a video link that Marinette wasted no time in opening. The video was titled "Kitsune Red Attacked at Convention" and Marinette could already feel her stomach grow uneasy from the title alone.

The video began, and it looked like whoever had taken the video had done it shakily with their phone, holding the phone vertically instead of horizontally. Whoever had taken the video was standing in a crowd that began to cheer as Kitsune Red walked in through the entrance, smiling and waving at the gathered crowd. The unease had started to dim inside Marinette until-

_"Take off the mask!"_

Marinette's eyes widened in horror as a man broke from the ground and lunged at Red. Red screamed as the man grabbed the front of her mask, trying to pull it down but only succeeding in yanking Red's head downward. A few bystanders tried to rush to help her, but a girl cosplaying as the character Maya was the fastest. There was a loud 'ping' as the Maya girl swung her flute straight into the side of the man's head. The man let go of Red, falling to the floor and out of the view from the cameraman's place in the growing crowd. With the man now off her, several people were trying to go up to Red to see if she was alright, but the Maya girl wrapped her arms around Red protectively.

 _"Everyone, get back!"_ the Maya girl snapped, and the crown obeyed.

The video ended, and Marinette furiously typed her reply.

**_That's terrible! Were you alright?_ **

_I was fine, I just had some tiny scabs for a while from him scratching me where he grabbed my face. Honestly you should be more worried about the guy. Turns out Maya cracked his skull when she hit him._

_*The Maya cosplayer, I mean_

**_You can do that with a flute?_ **

_"Anything's a weapon if you swing it hard enough," is what my sister always says._

**_That's true, I guess?_ **

_Yeah, anyway, my mom was pissed, and she put her foot down and threatened legal action with that girl. I humored her by not saying anything before, but it had to stop after that._

**_I understand, I know what it's like to be in danger if people ever found out who I was._ **

_I can only imagine._

_Btw, why did you wanna know?_

**_I was just curious. I wasn't really present on social media at that time._ **

_Oh, alright._

_Anyway, you want me to send you my ideas later?_

**_Sure. And, if you can, could you send me a list of which type of fabrics you'd prefer, as well as your measurements so I can get a sense of how much I'll charge._ **

_Sure thing!_

Nodding, Marinette put her phone back on its charger and headed back to her computer. Tikki didn't follow her at first. The small kwami looked from the phone to Marinette several times before flying over to Marinette. "Marinette, what about Alya?"

It took Marinette longer than Tikki liked for her to respond. Biting her lip, Marinette looked away as she debated her answer, knowing that Tikki would not like her immediate thought process.

Eventually, Marinette settled on the answer of, "It's pretty clear that Kitsune Red doesn't like Alya, Tikki. If I want to gain her trust to save her, I think that I have to hold off on telling Alya."

Tikki frowned but nodded. "I understand. Getting that necklace has to come first if we want to stop Vixen for good!"

"Right!"

* * *

"Lila, please! You have to get me the inside scoop!" Alya begged as both her and Lila walked into the classroom along with several other of her classmates. Marinette watched the display from her seat in the back. The others were following behind Lila, seemingly just as desperate as Alya was to hear about the supposed scoop, while Lila smiled as she soaked up the attention like a sponge.

"I'm sorry, Alya, but both MDC and Red want to keep this on the down-low."

"I know, but at least tell us something! Two mysterious artists that hardly anyone knows the identities of doing a collaboration! This is the scoop of the lifetime!"

"Alya, you know that, if I could, I'd tell you anything. But I'd be completely betraying both MDC's and Red's trust if I told you, so I can't"

"Can you at least tell us what the next issue is going to be about?"

"Spoilers, Alya!"

Marinette forced herself to take deep breaths, her hands balled into fists so tightly that she was sure that her hands would start bleeding at any moment. A part of her wanted so badly to just jump up and announce that she was MDC and prove that Lila was lying. She had enough proof, right? Lila wouldn't be able to lie her way out of it while making Marinette look like the bad guy, right? Probably not, but it felt better than just letting Lila run her mouth.

Luckily, Marinette eventually managed to force herself to calm down. Letting out one last deep exhale, she unclenched her fists and pulled out her phone, opening the messenger app.

**_Hey, Red, you don't know a girl named Lila Rossi, do you?_ **

_Never heard of her. Why?_

**_It's just that...she's this girl in my class who's pretending that she knows you. That she knows who you really are._ **

_If I had a dollar for every person who said that they knew my real identity I'd be able to solve world hunger in a day._

**_Red, she's lying about you to my entire class, and they actually believe her!_ **

_Did you try and tell them that she's a liar?_

**_Yes! Of course I did! But they didn't believe me!_ **

_Then that's their problem._

**_Red, you don't understand. Lila's promising all my friends that she'll introduce them to all these celebrities. Think about what it'll do to them, or how much then get hurt trying to believe in these empty promises._ **

_You can tell a kid for ages to stop pulling the dog's tail, but it's only after they get bit that they'll listen. If they don't want to listen to you, that's their problem._

**_They're my friends, Red, I have to keep fighting for them._ **

_You have a big heart, Hummingbird. While I admire that, a bigger heart only makes it easier for you to get stabbed._

* * *

_Your boyfriend still missing?_

**_Yeah. Even though what he's doing is really sweet, I hate having to sneak around just to see him._ **

**_Plus, dealing with Lila is so much harder without him by my side._ **

_Lila sounds like the kind of girl who'll argue with the manager to get a free haircut, then tell all her friends she donated her hair to cancer patients._

**_Lol. Yeah, that definitely sounds like Lila._ **

* * *

_"Don't be bemused, it's just the news! I'm Nadja Chamack! Our top story tonight, Paris' rising fashion star, the mysterious MDC, has just announced the release of her first official fashion line!"_

_A social media post under the name MDC appeared and took up most of the screen._

**_Follow your dreams, because there is no other feeling like when they come true! I can't say thank you enough, but thank you again to Theofficialkitsunered and Rockandrollstone for helping me get my business officially off the ground!_ **

_"No one knows just who the masked designer could be, but I think everyone agrees that they hope to get their hands on some of her amazing work!"_

For once, nothing -absolutely nothing- could bring Marinette Dupain-Cheng down today. She was riding the high of success with the most beaming grin anyone had ever seen, and nothing was going to take her joy away from her.

So that's why when Lila began her usual spiel of lies, she barely batted an eye. Her and Adrien just sat in the back, her blissfully leaning against him while the two held hands, watching their classmates crowd Lila as she spun yet another tale to make the latest buzz about her.

"Don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than to support my bestie, MDC, but I'm under contract with Gabriel Agreste, which means that I can't even wear anything from potential competing brands," Lila continued, their classmates hanging off her every word.

"By that logic, you'd think that my father would make his new 'muse' wear something less embarrassing," Adrien whispered to Marinette, making her giggle.

Lila let out an exaggerated sigh, her frown pitiful. "It's such a shame too. MDC had practically begged me to become one of her models. But a contract is a contract."

"It must also suck that she wasn't allowed to mention you as one of her benefactors because of it," Alix added, prompting Lila to sigh again.

"It was. She wanted so badly to mention me, seeing as how I did so much to help her get off the ground, but..." she trailed off, sadly looking off into the distance until Alya put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure that she'll be able to properly thank you one day, Lila."

Lila smiled at Alya and waved her hand. "No, it's alright. Helping people isn't about recognition, but the satisfaction of bringing just a bit of extra good in the world."

"Very well said, Lila," said Miss Bustier, gaining the room's attention. "I think that some of us could really benefit from such words of wisdom."

Marinette knew that the words were meant for her, even without Miss Bustier looking directly at her when they were said. Still, her success high was going on strong, so she didn't care. Her visible lack of remorse made Miss Bustier frown, though, before the teacher clapped her hands together.

"Alright, everyone, to your seats. We still have classwork to do today."

* * *

It took four rings before Kitsune Red picked up the phone.

"Moshi moshi?" Red said through a deep yawn.

Marinette pried her face away from the pillow she was crying into and looked at the clock on her phone. Right, it was likely almost midnight where Red was. Still, she was too much of a mess right now and needed to hear a friend's voice.

However, the Japanese threw her off and her immediate responded was, "what?"

Red paused before Marinette heard her start muttering. What she said Marinette couldn't really tell, but by Red's tone and specific enunciation she knew that several of the words were swears.

Finally switching to French, Red said, "sorry, I didn't look at the caller ID."

"Oh, it's alright..." Marinette said quietly, trying and failing to keep her sniffling quiet.

Red seemed to pick up on her distress as she asked, "Hummingbird? Are you alright?"

Marinette shook her head, despite it not being a video call. "No, it's Lila again..."

Marinette could hear the shuffling sounds of Red sitting up as she sighed into the phone, her tone shifting to annoyance long enough for her to ask, "what did she do now?"

Her lip trembled, and Marinette only managed to hold herself back for a second before the tears started again. Her anger forced her onto her knees as she started yelling into the phone. "She convinced my friends that I'm bullying her! And they all said that they're not talking to me until I apologize!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, her eyes starting to burn from the fresh wave of tears. "But I'm not bullying her! It's just another one of Lila's lies, but they won't believe me! They won't even believe Adrien! And he said that they tried to get him to break up with me before he threatened to never speak to them again! And it's all because of Lila and her lies!" She finished her yelling off by letting out a wail as she threw her pillow against the wall, the pillow bouncing off the wall with a muffled smack and falling back onto the bed. Marinette hung her head, taking deep breaths in a failing attempt at calming herself down. Tikki hadn't warned her about any akuma yet, so she let the rest of her tears fall down her face.

Breaking the silence, Red calmly replied, "I believe you."

Despite her tears, that simple sentence brought a small smile to Marinette's face. "Thanks, Red, I knew you would. That's why I called; I just need someone to talk to right now."

Red let out another yawn but made the effort of suppressing it as best she could this time. "I'm always happy to talk, Hummingbird. What do you wanna talk about?"

The two girls talked for over an hour about...anything! Sometimes they talked about Lila, sometimes about their respective interests. One moment they were talking about the likelihood of Lila getting sued for her lies in the future, the next they were talking about how the most popular fan theory of Music Maidens wasn't true, then suddenly Marinette was going into a story about how something went wrong with her sewing machine and ruined one of her favorite fabrics. Whatever topic they somehow found themselves in they just rolled with it.

Marinette, her tears long wiped away, laid on her back while she lazily waved a cookie in the air. Next to her was a large plate of cookies Sabine had brought up to make her feel better that her and Tikki were currently sharing.

"And then she talked about how you two split the California rolls while she was in Japan," she said, rolling her eyes while taking a bite of her cookie

Red, who was periodically sipping a glass of something with ice in it, replied, "skipping the fact that her going straight for sushi as a Japanese food is very stereotypical, I hope that she wasn't lying about knowing CPR, cause I'm allergic to crab."

"She'd probably say that it was an imitation crab if I called her out on it, or she'd say that she got the name wrong and name a different sushi.

"Well, she'd still be wrong because I don't actually like sushi. I thought that you said your friend basically stalked me to try and find out who I was? I've mentioned in at least a dozen interviews that I don't like sushi."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Red paused to take another sip, "whenever the interviewer opened the floor for questions there'd almost always be that one guy who'd ask what my favorite sushi is. Just because I'm half-Japanese doesn't mean that I'm some anime girl sushi-eating with one hand while ramen-slurping with the other."

Marinette couldn't help but laugh a little. "The same thing happens here in France. Sometimes my parents make small talk with tourists while they buy from the bakery, and you won't believe how many people were surprised that we don't all wear berets while eating cheese and drinking wine."

"You don't?"

The two burst into uncontrolled laughter. Down below, Tom and Sabine peaked in, smiling warmly at the sound of their daughter's joy before going back to what they were doing. When their hysterics had been reduced to light chuckles, Marinette smiled to her phone.

"Red.."

"Hm?"

Marinette hesitated, looking down as her smile grew just a bit more. "I'm really glad that we became friends."

There was a pause on Red's end before she replied with the same warmth, "me too, Hummingbird."

A thump on Marinette's roof was quick to grab her attention. The secret knock that came after brought a different smile to her face. A smile that was reserved for a very special person in her life.

"Oh! I think that I hear my boyfriend! He must have snuck out to see me again!"

"He's a keeper! Call me if you need anything, Hummingbird. Just try to keep it before dark where I am."

Marinette let out a sheepish giggle. "I will, Red, thank you. Bye!"

"Bye!"

* * *

Marinette rested her chin on her palm while she tapped her pencil to the side of her head. Sitting on her desk was her open sketch book. The current page she was on had "Fresh Blood Theme: Roses" written above several drawings of mannequins waiting to be dressed in her creativity. Except, her creativity for the day had been drained finishing Jagged Stone's jacket for his latest tour a mere hour ago before she had gotten the email for the commission.

Just as she was stretching in preparation for a break, hopeful that a few swings around Paris as Ladybug would start back up her creativity factory, she heard her phone ding. Opening her phone, she saw that Red had sent her a message.

_Hey, Hummingbird! Guess what?_

**_What is it?_ **

_I'm coming to Paris!_

Marinette's eyes widened before a smile shot onto her face.

**_Really? That's great! When are you coming?_ **

_In a week, actually! I just finished packing my stuff, so my family and I are going to be flying out soon!_

**_I can't wait to see you in person!_ **

_Me too!_

"You did it, Marinette! Your plan worked!" Tikki cheered, flying up and doing a loop in her excitement.

Marinette's smile fell as she looked at Tikki, her head tilted in confusion. "My plan?"

Tikki blinked, losing her smile as well. "To befriend Kitsune Red so that you could convince her to give up Vixen's miraculous?" she reminded.

When the memory hit her, Marinette busted out her signature smile and laugh that appeared when she was trying to lie her way out of a situation. "Oh! Right! That!"

Unfortunately, Tikki knew her long enough to see through it, so the kwami's response was to frown and fold her arms. "Don't tell me that you forgot, Marinette."

"I didn't! I swear!" Marinette insisted, but Tikki's expression didn't change.

"Tikki!"


	3. The Thing About Perspectives...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1: The class perspective.

It was the Friday of the first week of the new school year when the announcement was made. 

"Alright, everyone! I have a special surprise announcement today!" 

Miss Bustier scanned the classroom as most of her students immediately perked up in attention. Her eyes lingered on Marinette in the back for just a moment longer than any other student, and her lips pressed into a thin line when she saw that Marinette was clearly not paying attention in favor of writing in her journal. 

Caline's heart ached, wondering what had happened to what had been one of her star students. But she couldn't dwell on that thought right now. Right now, she brought a smile back to her face and continued. 

"We have a new student that will be joining our class!" 

The classroom erupted into questions and chatter at the news. Some, like Rose and Alya, were asking endless questions about the new student. Chloe went on about how it was just another 'peasant' come to worship her. Kim was trying to bet Alix on whether the new student was a boy or girl, with Max entering the conversation to give the general statics on the likelihood of the student being one or the other gender. Then there was Marinette, sitting quietly in the back, having now chosen to pay attention. Amongst it all, Lila was planning. A new student meant a fresh sheep for her flock, and she was already formulating a plan for the new student's integration. 

"Marinette!" Miss Bustier called, bringing the other students' attention back to her. "The new student is going to be sitting next to you." 

Marinette nodded, and Lila's eyes widened. No, if she was going to make good on her promise to isolate Marinette, this couldn't happen. The first day with the new student was the most important. New meant no established relationships or history. New also meant ignorance to the current status of the classroom. She had to establish the 'true' versions of events to the new student before a single word could come out of Marinette's mouth. 

Quickly, her hand shot up. "Miss Bustier!" she called, without waiting to be called on. 

When she got Miss Bustier's attention, she put her best smile on and said kindly, "I was just thinking that, since the student is new, that they'd be more comfortable sitting up in front with _better company._ " 

To Lila's surprise, for once, Miss Bustier frowned and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lila, but the student's mother specifically requested that they be sat in the back of the class. The new student has not come from the best of circumstances and would feel the most comfortable if they could see the whole class at all times." 

It took Lila a moment to respond to that. Miss Bustier had almost never said no to her desires. She didn't even cave when the others had offered to give up their seats instead. 

"Everyone, I told you last year that I would only let the sudden seat change go once. No one is moving, and the new student will be sat next to Marinette," she said firmly. 

Lila tried to use that forceful tone to her advantage, shrinking into herself and replying quietly, "oh...okay. I just thought that, well, we wouldn't want Marinette to start to bully them like she bullied me..." she said, making her voice go quieter with each word as she looked off to the side. 

Miss Bustier sighed, trying to keep her smile kind and welcoming. "I know that we've all had a very troubling last year with the first appearance of Hawk Moth, but I can only hope that we'll all have a better attitude coming into the new year." She may not have looked at Marinette, but everyone knew that Miss Bustier was referring to her. 

Lila leaned back in her seat with her arms folded, just barely managing to hold back her scowl while she pouted. 

She then heard Alya whisper into her ear. "Don't worry, Lila, we won't let Marinette hurt the new kid. We'll protect them just like we protect you." 

Turning back, Lila gave Alya a smile. "Thank you, Alya," she whispered back before turning forward, now in a slightly better mood. 

What did she have to worry about? She was Lila Rossi, and she had almost everyone in class behind her. The only exceptions were Chloe and Adrien, but even that wasn't a problem as Adrien wasn't here- last minute re-shoot after the pictures had accidentally been damaged- and no one liked Chloe besides Sabrina. Marinette was all alone while Lila had an entire army by her side. She just had to buy her time and get the new kid away from Marinette as soon as possible, then it was smooth sailing. 

"Well, without further ado…" Miss Bustier walked over to the door and opened it, happily calling out, "we're ready for you!" 

The students had their eyes glued to the door, waiting for someone to step in. When no one did, Miss Bustier frowned and stepped halfway out the door. 

Being the closest to the door, only Lila was able to hear Miss Bustier whisper, "It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of, Alyssa. Come on in." 

Lila briefly smirked. A girl, huh? And she seemed to be a shy one given how Miss Bustier had to coax her inside. Her theory was correct as a girl stepped into the room, looking as if she wanted to bolt out of the school entirely, but was only stopped by Miss Bustier putting her hands on Alyssa's arm and shoulder. 

Moving the both of them to stand in front of Miss Bustier's desk, Miss Bustier proudly announced, "everyone, meet our new student!" 

With her front in center, the others were allowed a good look at Alyssa. Some of her features gave evidence of Japanese descent, but it was clear that she was bi-racial. Her long black hair was tied into a thick braid that draped over her shoulder, but there was still enough hair left out of the braid to cover half her face. Her attire was simple, a large orange sweater- her arms wrapped around her blue bookbag in a death grip- dark blue jeans, and black slip-on shoes. 

The most interesting detail about her to Lila, though, was Alyssa's brown eyes that were frozen in a state of fear. The girl looked like she was being held at gunpoint, shaking like a leaf under the stare of her new classmates. What didn't help was Alix jumping up, making Alyssa squeak and shrink back as she turned to Kim and shouted. 

"Yes! Pay up!" 

"Alix! Kim!" Miss Bustier scolded, effectively silencing them and putting Alix back into her seat. 

Looking back down to Alyssa, Miss Bustier's warm smile returned as she said softly, "why don't you introduce yourself?" 

Alyssa looked from Miss Bustier to the stare of her classmates. She bit down on her trembling lips, taking a solid minute before she managed to stutter out a quiet, "Um...I...m-my...um…" No one not in the first two rows was able to hear her, some leaning their ears forward to unsuccessfully try. 

"A little louder, Alyssa," Miss Bustier whispered. 

Alyssa did manage to get louder, but her voice ended up cracking as only the same garble of stutters trying to be words came out. 

"Um...I...um…" Chloe mocked with a cruel smile. "Where did you learn to speak? From a word search?" 

Only Sabrina laughed along at the joke, and Chloe sitting in the front row allowed the glares from her classmates to remain out of her line of sight. 

Miss Bustier gave Chloe a hard frown before turning back to Alyssa. "Take a deep breath and try again. You can do it." 

Alyssa did as Miss Bustier asked, taking a deep breath in and out, before trying again. 

"My name is Shōkan Alyssa- wait that's not how it goes here- my name is Alyssa Shōkan! I'm fifteen years old, my blood type is-" 

Miss Bustier chuckled, stopping Alyssa with a pat to her shoulder. "I don't think they need to know that much, Alyssa." 

Alyssa's only response was to shrink into herself again, silencing herself by biting down on her lips as she stared down at the floor. Frowning, Miss Bustier was about to end Alyssa's very visible anxiety about being front and center by letting her sit down, when Lila suddenly raised her hand. 

When Miss Bustier acknowledged her, Lila said sweetly, "why don't we break the ice by asking Alyssa about herself?" 

Miss Bustier's eyes lit up, while Alyssa looked like a deer in headlights. "Good idea, Lila! Does anyone have any questions for Alyssa?" 

Alya's hand shot up faster than several other of her classmates, so she got to ask first. "Who are your parents?" 

Alyssa looked to the floor. "My mom is Yuzuki Shōkan. My father...isn't around anymore." 

Silence fell upon the room as even Kim understood what Alyssa's words meant. Lila, while holding her best look of pity, was taking a mental note about the dead father. There could be something to exploit out of that if she needed to. 

Alya, despite how uncomfortable she now looked, spoke up again, hesitantly this time. "Well...what does your mom do?" 

"My mom's a lawyer who owns her own law firm. Shōkan Law Firm, if you ever heard of it." 

That seems to shift the mood back to positive, with most of her classmates now staring at her with amazement. Even Chloe expressed some interest. 

"I've heard about it! It's one of the best law firms in the world!" Alya said, her excitement beaming. 

"They represent all kinds of famous people! Jagged Stone, Kitsune Red, the Korenbergs, Clara Nightingale, even MDC!" Sabrina added. 

Bouncing off that topic, Kim asked, "does that mean that you've met tons of celebrities?" 

Alyssa shrugged. "I've crossed paths with them." 

Just as Alyssa was bombarded with a wave of questions about exactly which celebrities she's met, and if she was close to any of them, Lila quieted everyone down when she spoke up. 

"So, Alyssa, that must mean that your mom makes a lot of money, huh?" 

Again, Alyssa shrugged. "Yeah, we're a pretty rich family. But we're simple people so we just save or donate most of it." 

A few questions popped up about just how rich she was, but Miss Bustier was quick to switch the topic to something else. Lila, however, wouldn't let that little fact leave her mind. Rich and shy were the perfect combination to equal someone who was easy to manipulate. Adrien was the same way, and she became Gabriel's new muse and model star through him. Lila could already picture a new purse, or an entirely new wardrobe gained from Alyssa's friendship. 

While Lila continued to plan and fantasize, a few other questions were asked that she only half listened to. 

"Do you have any siblings?" 

"Just my big sister, Mai." 

"Where are you from?" 

"I was born in America, but I've lived in Japan since I was eight." 

"How do you know French?" 

"My uncle is French, so I learned it for him." 

By the end of the Q&A, Alyssa didn't seem as scared as she did before, but not by much. She still didn't meet anyone's eyes when she walked up the stairs and to her seat, shaking a bit as everyone stared her down. 

"Alright, with that out of the way, let's get started! Everyone, pull out your textbooks and turn to page 14," Miss Bustier said, which prompted the students to start pulling out their materials. 

Just as everyone was preparing to have their focus solely on the teacher, it was interrupted by the sound of laughter. Now, the fact that there was laughter was nothing to write home about, but where exactly the laughter was coming from is what caused the shock. Everyone's head practically snapped with how fast they turned to look at Marinette and Alyssa, and they were all greeted with the surprise of the two chuckling to each other. It wasn't even polite laughter, no, the two were genuinely laughing. 

Lila turned to Miss Bustier, waiting for her to step in and stop this, to tell them that it was time to pay attention, but Miss Bustier surprised her for a second time today. 

Miss Bustier smiled as she watched Alyssa chuckle along with Marinette. There was the Marinette she knew shining through, and it seemed like she was already helping Alyssa out of her shell. While she did wish that she could see a bit more of this from Marinette, she was still pleased at what she was seeing. 

She'd let it slide this time. 

Their laughter stopped abruptly when they realized that eyes were on them, Alyssa shrinking into herself while Marinette quickly went back to taking out her supplies. With the display that had garnered the attention gone, one by one they all slowly turned back to face front. Just before Alya looked back, though, she locked eyes with Alix. Through eye contact alone, Alya gave Alix her request, and the two shared a nod. When Alix turned to face forward again, she also leaned back in her seat, keeping one ear listening to Alyssa and Marinette while the other only barely listened to Miss Bustier's lecture. 

Throughout class time, it was clear to everyone in the classroom that Caline was trying to nudge Alyssa out of her shell a little bit by getting her to read aloud and answer questions for the class. Alyssa had tried to obey the teacher's wish but had ended up mumbling out each attempt at talking before finally breaking down into tears in front of everyone. Miss Bustier led her out of the room, to which Lila took the opportunity to earn some more points by her classmates. 

"Oh, poor Alyssa! I've never seen anyone so shy!" Lila said pitifully. 

"Yeah, it almost makes you wonder why she even came to public school if she clearly can't handle it." Nino added. 

"You'd think that she'd just hire tutors and stay at home," Alya said. 

"Humans are social creatures," Max chimed in, "It's likely that her mother is hoping that the experience in a class setting would help with Alyssa's shyness." 

That seemed to be the acceptable answer, and the class devolved into random chatter until Miss Bustier came back in without Alyssa. Without any explanation, she resumed teaching as if nothing had happened, only giving Alyssa a nod when she eventually came back several minutes later and took her seat. 

Class went on as normal, and soon it was time to go to lunch. The moment the bell had rung, Lila was about to jump up and ask Alyssa to join them for lunch, but Alix beat her to it. 

Standing up and turning around, she slammed her hands down on Alyssa and Marinette's desk. "Hey, Alyssa, you want to sit with us for lunch?" Alix asked with lighting speed. 

Alyssa grabbed onto Marinette's arm, staring at Alix fearfully. After several moments of her not saying a word, Marinette spoke up. "Sorry, Alix, but Alyssa already agreed to have lunch at my house." 

Alix glared at Marinette. "Was I talking to you? No. I think that Alyssa should speak for herself." 

Her words were met with the very loud agreement from the rest of her class, which made her smile just a bit smugger. The smugness died, though, when Alyssa did speak up. 

"I want to go with Marinette," she said, not looking up to meet any eyes. 

Lila frowned hard before smiling again as an idea hit her. "Common, Marinette, you really shouldn't keep the new student from getting to know her classmates. After all, you should never isolate someone." 

Marinette didn't bother to hide her annoyed expression, just as the rest of the class didn't bother to hold back the round of glares that they shot at her. Breaking up the tension, Miss Bustier spoke up. "Lila's right, Marinette. Alyssa should stay at school to get to know the rest of her classmates better. Wouldn't you like that Alyssa?" 

Alyssa, looking ready to start another round of tears, slowly shook her head. "Can we please just go?" 

Marinette sighed. "Common, Alyssa," she said as she led the two of them down the stairs and out the door, Kim noticing something fall into the trash can as they walked by. Chloe and Sabrina left soon after, and that just left the others who stood behind Lila as she approached Miss Bustier. 

"Miss Bustier! Marinette is trying to isolate Alyssa from making friends!" 

Miss Bustier smiled at Lila. "Maybe Marinette is acting as a sort of bridge for Alyssa. If she's able to warm up to Marinette, I'm sure that, soon enough, Alyssa will be able to warm up to the rest of you as well." 

While Lila tried to argue against that, recalling a story about how a girl she once knew was isolated from her friends by a bully who only wanted to be friends with the girl because she was rich, Alya had made her way over to Alix. 

"Did you hear them say anything?" 

Alix shook her head. "No, they were completely silent! All I heard was them giggle occasionally, but nothing else! I don't know if Marinette somehow learned telepathy or what!" 

"I think that this might shed some light," Kim said as he walked over to the group, holding a wrinkled piece of paper and showing it to the girls. 

_You_ _want to_ _come over to my parent's bakery for lunch?_

_Sure. I have a packed lunch, but I do have some money with me to buy a treat._

_Don't worry about money, you eat for free._

_Are you sure? I can pay._

_Of course! Your money's no good at my parent's bakery._

_Okay, but I will leave a massive tip._

_That's fair._

Alya's mouth fell open. Outraged, she snatched the paper out of Kim's hands and read it over once more. "I can't believe this! She's bribing Alyssa!?" 

Alix folded her arms, glaring as she shook her head. "And who knows what Marinette will tell her while they're over there." 

Alya threw the paper aside, her determined expression matching the fire that could be seen burning in her eyes. "That's it. No matter what, we will get Alyssa on our side!" 

"And...it all started when the two were sat next to each other," Lila conclude, putting on the face of worried desperation. 

Still, instead of doing as Lila wanted, Miss Bustier simply placed a hand on Lila's shoulder, bending down to Lila's height. "Lila, I know Marinette's done some bad things, but she wouldn't take advantage of someone like that." 

"Well, to be fair, we also thought that Marinette would never bully anyone," Juleka commented. 

Miss Bustier briefly shot a hard stare at her before the smile came right back as she turned to Lila. "Either way, if you're so concerned, just try and make friends with Alyssa as soon as possible. Maybe then you might even become friends with Marinette as well."

* * *

When it was clear that Miss Bustier was going to be no help in their mission, the girls of the group had spent most of their lunch openly planning while the guys were mostly there to occasionally add into the conversation. Just as they were moving away from any ideas that involved someone getting kidnapped, Rose had called out, "look, they're back!" 

Everyone looked to the entrance to see Alyssa and Marinette walk in. The two appeared to be talking about something that caused them to pause and hug each other. 

Lila, having taken the entire bench the others crowded around for herself, frowned as she felt her blood boil. Already her mind was running through all the possible things Marinette could have said to Alyssa, and how to counter the claims and turn them on Marinette. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when an ear grating voice called out, "Alyssa!", causing the group the groan. 

"Uh-oh, and here comes Chloe," Alix said flatly. 

"Up to her usual bullying?" Alya asked, even though she felt that she already knew the answer. 

Still, Nino answered in an annoyed tone. "Seems like it." 

It did indeed seem like Chloe's usual rounds in a likely attempt at establishing dominance. The way she pointed at Alyssa's clothes, the very condescending way she put her hand to her chest as a show of her importance. The only problem was that Alyssa wasn't getting upset at all, just staring with a blank expression. When Chloe had stopped talking, Alyssa had said something. Whatever it was, it was followed by Sabrina whispering in Chloe's ear, and Chloe looking furious before she started yelling. 

"How dare you! Are you really turning down the opportunity to be my bestie? For what? This baker brat of all people!" 

Marinette's mouth moved, causing Chloe to snap at her. "Shut up, Dupain-Cheng!" 

Alyssa said something else, which caused Chloe to stomp away. 

"Well, whatever that was, it looks like Alyssa has some taste." Lila noted. 

"Well, we won't be able to tell for sure until we see how her and Adrien interact." Alya said. 

"Marinette!" 

"Speak of the devil." 

In a scene straight out of a romance novel, Adrien ran into the school and straight to Marinette, grabbing her up by the waist and spinning her around as the two laughed at their mini reunion, ending with a kiss before Adrien set her back down. Lila rolled her eyes at the display, holding back a gag, but the other girls couldn't help but feel melancholy. They had worked so hard to get the two of them together only to find out that Marinette was a manipulative bully. When they had tried to warn Adrien, and subtly convince him that Lila was a better choice, Adrien had surprised all of them by threatening them. Citing how, just like with Chloe, he is more than ready to choose Marinette over anyone. They were forced to give up, and while the guys still had the occasional guy time with Adrien, double dates were out the window, and any other hangout that Marinette was excluded from automatically counted him out as well. It was ridiculously romantic, but they couldn't enjoy it given the circumstances. 

It was at that point that Adrien and Marinette were done with their little display, and Adrien finally noticed Alyssa, who stood there awkwardly. 

"You think that Adrien will have any luck?" Nino openly asked. 

Alya rolled her eyes. "This is Adrien we're talking about. If the resident sunshine boy can't get her to at least smile, then I'll delete the Ladyblog right now." 

With the wager on the table, they were all now even more interested to watch the scene play out. Marinette gestured to Alyssa, seemingly introducing her to Adrien, and Adrien did a dramatic bow to greet her. Alyssa looked as apprehensive as always, until Adrien spoke again. Curiosity replaced her fear, and she responded. What she said apparently made Adrien smile nervously as he scratched the back of his head. To everyone's surprise, yet unsurprise, what Adrien said next made Alyssa laugh. 

Alya smirked, "sunshine boy strikes again." 

Lila mirrored her expression, but not for the same reason. If Adrien could butter her up to him, then a few sweet words from her would be all that she needed. Standing up, and getting the attention from the others, Lila announced, "alright, I think it's time that I give it a try!" 

The others were quick to smile and give her words of encouragement. Alya patted her shoulder and gave an enthusiastic, "you got this, girl!" 

Lila gave all of them an appreciative smile before strutting her way over to Alyssa, Marinette, and Adrien. As she approached, she looked Alyssa up and down, spotting a keychain of a chibi-fied Maya drawing hanging from her bag. 

"So, she likes Music Maidens?" Lila thought, her smile growing a bit more malicious as she already knew exactly what to say. 

She was caught a little off guard when Alyssa and Marinette suddenly turned to look at her before she had made her presence known, Adrien doing so as well a moment later, but that didn't stop her from dawning her signature saccharine smile as she waved to the group. Lila noted that Marinette was clearly glaring at her, but she didn't care. From the point of view of the other students, it only worked to make Marinette look worse, which was a bonus. Even Adrien didn't concern her that much right now, him keeping up a neutral expression. 

No, her focus was on Alyssa. The poor girl, after spotting Lila, instantly shrank and hid herself behind Marinette, eyeing Lila nervously. 

"Hi, everyone!" she greeted in a friendly tone, even though she was looking solely at Alyssa. 

Holding out her hand to Alyssa, Lila continued, "I don't think that we've been properly introduced. My name is Lila Rossi, welcome to our school!" 

Alyssa looked down at Lila's hand, then back at Lila, before scooting just a bit further behind Marinette. Inwardly, Lila frowned. She knew that she should've pushed harder for Alyssa to not go anywhere near Marinette. But she was still Lila Rossi, and she was not about to give up just yet. 

Giggling for effect, Lila pushed on. "It's alright, I actually know what it's like to be the new kid when everyone else has already become friends. Trust me, everyone here is really friendly, and we'd all be so happy to have you as a friend, Alyssa." 

As just a little jab at Marinette, Lila frowned and shot a look at her rival, who was still glaring at her. Lowering her voice, but keeping it loud enough to make sure that Marinette heard her, she added, "well, some of us, anyway." 

Even though a part of Lila had expected Alyssa's reaction of whimpering while burying her head into Marinette's back, it still made her a bit angry that she was not getting anywhere. And the snort she most definitely heard come from Marinette only seemed to rub salt in her wounds. 

_‘Alright, looks like we have to go straight into sweet words,’_ Lila thought to herself. 

Lila looked down at Alyssa's keychain, and smiled wide as she made a gasp of surprise. 

"Is that Maya from Music Maidens?" 

Lila's smile became one of triumph when Alyssa peaked back from behind Marinette to look at her curiously. Alyssa looked down to her bag, then back up at Lila before replying, "um...y-yeah. It's my favorite manga series." 

Bingo! 

Lila feigned a nod of interest. "Oh, really?" When Alyssa nodded, Lila continued, "It's one of my favorites too!" 

When Alyssa stepped out from behind Marinette and gave Lila a small smile, Lila decided that now was the time to throw in her trump card. Allowing herself to use her most humble of bragging tones, she said, "you know, I actually know Kitsune Red?" 

Marinette turned away slightly, while Adrien looked to Alyssa to see her reaction. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "you do?" 

Lila nodded. Her prey was already falling into her trap. Hook. "Yeah, we met a few years ago during one of my visits to Japan and just clicked instantly. We've been best friends ever since!" 

Line. 

"I was the one who encouraged her to publish Music Maidens. And the character, Maya, was inspired by me." 

And... 

"Lila, you're French, right?" 

Lila frowned, and she did a double take. There was no admiration in Alyssa's eyes. Instead there looked to be doubt and...and an emotion that Lila couldn't place. This had rarely happened to Lila in the most recent months, but she was still able to quickly recompose herself with a smile. 

"Oh, actually, I'm Italian." 

Alyssa's eyes only narrowed further. "Right...and... how old are you?" 

"16?" 

"Right, so, how is it that a, at the time, likely 13-year-old Italian girl was the inspiration for a canonically 17-year-old Japanese girl?" 

Lila's eyes widened, and she replied hastily, "I didn't mean in that sense! I mean personality wise! You know, being a good person and helping her community?" 

Adrien spoke up to that. "Lila, Maya is a character who hated the world and didn't even want to be a hero. But it was through slowly learning to care about those around her and developing a friendship with her teammates that she became a better person." 

Bouncing off Adrien's point, Marinette said, "and, even then, she's still more of an anti-hero then any kind of hero you claim to be." 

Lila looked back and forth at each pair of eyes staring skeptically at her. Seeing that the situation was out of her favor, she quickly feigned a headache, saying something about needing to take her medication, and swiftly walked away. As she did so, she made sure to look glum as she made her way back to the others, looking down sadly and holding onto her arm as if it had been wounded. As expected, the other's surrounded her as she took her seat, Alya being the first to ask, "well, what happened?" 

Lila sniffed and replied, "I was too late, Marinette already made her think that I'm a lair." 

If there was any win that Lila could take from today, it was that the others had shot another glare toward Marinette, who wasn't even paying attention to them as both her and Adrien had gone back to talking to Alyssa, and all three were now laughing about something. 

Lila scowled at how lively Alyssa was acting toward Marinette. Talking, laughing, showing none of the fear that she had shown Lila. Lila's hand curled up into fists at the display. Marinette may have won over Alyssa now, but Lila knew that she would win in the end. 

This wasn't just about their war anymore. Alyssa had one of the two things that she wanted: money. The girl was shy and moldable and would prove to be an excellent resource to Lila. Alyssa may be a bit smarter than Lila had expected, but all she had to do was play her cards right and Alyssa would join her classmates in bowing down to her. All it would take was a sweet word or two to practically have Alyssa as her personal debit card. 

Lila had to admit that she had gotten a bit too comfortable. Letting her words run a little too freely with how easy it had been to get others to believe her. Alyssa was weirdly a welcomed challenge. 

And getting Alyssa on her side would only make her victory over Marinette all the sweeter. 

The rest of the day had gone on uneventfully, and, soon enough, they were packing up to go home. The other girls in the class had tried to invite Alyssa out to go and do something with them, but when they turned around the girl was suddenly nowhere to be found. Even Miss Bustier was confused as no one even saw her leave. It had been as if she had just teleported out of the room. With heads hung in defeat, they had secretly agreed to talk over their group chat later, just to make sure that a certain noirette didn't overhear, and they all went to leave.

* * *

_[Alyssa has been added to the group chat]_

_Mylene: Hey, Alyssa! We were wondering if you'd like to come over to Alya's place for a sleepover tomorrow?_

_Lila: Yeah! We'd love to have you, and I'd be a great way to get to know each other while we have some fun!_

_Rose: We'll have so much fun! You can even borrow my favorite stuffed unicorn!_

_Alya: My parents will be watching over my little sisters tomorrow, so we'll have the place all to ourselves!_

_Alyssa: Sorry, but I'm busy tomorrow. There're still some things I have to wait for to come in and unpack from the move. Again, I'm really sorry._

_Lila: That's okay. What about a hangout on Sunday then? We could show you around Paris._

_Alya: Great idea, Lila! Since you're new, you probably don't know your way around, Alyssa. We'd be happy to give you a tour._

_Alix: We happen to know some pretty good hot spots._

_Rose: We can even go sightseeing! Paris is really beautiful!_

_Alyssa: Thank you, but, sorry, I already have plans on Sunday._

* * *

_Alya: Ugh! It's like she's trying to avoid us! How was this so easy for Marinette?_

_Lila: You know how she is. A wolf in sheep's clothing could fool any eye._

_Alya: I wish that we could just tell her that she's making a mistake by hanging with Marinette. But who knows how deep Marinette sunk her claws into her?_

_Lila: If it were that easy then we would have already freed Adrien from her clutches._

_Alya: In all fairness, that boy did disappear off the face of the earth for her, he was a lost cause from the start._

_Lila: True. Don't worry Alya, I'm sure that Alyssa will come around._

_Alya: I sure hope so, girl._

Lila put her phone down and continued looking on the web, although the task led her to become progressively more frustrated. Ever since she had gotten home, she had tried to find any social media Alyssa might have in order to learn more about her interests. As much as she would have liked getting to know Alyssa in person to learn how to befriend her, the girl avoiding them for now gave her an entire weekend to learn everything about her target from a distance and spin a story good enough to win her over. 

The problem with her plan, though, was that the girl had absolutely nothing! No social media, no matter how many ways Lila had spelled her name. No Twitter, no Instagram, not even a throwaway blog! She had no social media presence whatsoever! Seeing that avenue as a failure, Lila had tried looking through Yuzuki's social media, but she didn't have anything either! The only thing there was a website for the law firm, and Lila was pretty sure that an email sent to Yuzuki through her work email would end up marked as spam. 

Sighing, Lila had to give up for the day, with the only thing to show for her efforts being the fact that Alix had accidentally found out where Alyssa lived and had told them. It was a start, and it's the only advantage that Lila had, so she was going to take it. 


	4. …Is That It's Different For Everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2: The other side of the story.

“Okay, so the fabric will be here on Wednesday, so I’ll be able to start on Friday after I finish the rest of the headpieces…” Marinette continued to mutter to herself as she furiously scribbled down notes into her work journal. Any outside noises, comments, or glares went right over her head as she desperately tried to keep track of everything. 

She took a break from jotting down the things she needed to order to turn to her sketchbook, looking over the design of a hairpiece shaped into a bird’s wing. She drew a line from the wing and hastily wrote down a new note as she continued talking to herself. “And for the hair piece I think I can use a strong wire and lay the fabric over it.” 

Going back to her journal, she added another item to her order list. “I’ll need a fabric that I can paint on for the smaller details. Some Pearl Ex powder would be good as well.” She jotted that down as well. 

Miss Bustier had stood in front of the class, talking about something, but Marinette didn’t hear as another thought hit her. 

_‘Wait, did I remember to order the thread?’_ Her heart skipped several beats as she frantically flipped through her journal, only returning to a proper rhythm when she saw the note, _‘Thread order -expected delivery_ _:_ _Saturday_ _,'_ written and circled in red to make sure that she could easily spot it. 

With that potential catastrophe out of the way, Marinette sighed in relief before finally paying attention to Miss Bustier. Just in time for her heart to stop again when Miss Bustier announced, "we have a new student that will be joining our class!" 

The noise of her classmates was drowned out by Marinette’s internal screaming. It wasn’t today, was it? Wait...it _was_ Friday. It _was_ today! Where did the week go?! There was still so much she had to do! To plan! Her and Chat Noir still didn’t have a definitive plan to handle- 

“Marinette!” Miss Bustier called, snapping Marinette from her thoughts. "The new student is going to be sitting next to you." 

Marinette could only nod dumbly, her mind still racing under the now very short time limit. 

While that was going on, no one was able to see Alyssa staring into the classroom from the window. Her face was neutral, though was starting to become borderline annoyed as she idly rubbed her fingers against the strap of her bag. Next to her, a fox theme girl in a kimono floated a few inches off the ground with her arms crossed as she too observed the scene. For a time, Alyssa was glaring at Alya until their attention was brought to Lila as she raised her hand. 

"I was just thinking that, since the student is new, that they'd be more comfortable sitting up in front with _better company_ _,_ " Lila said in a voice so sweet that it made Alyssa sick. 

“So, that’s the little rat that’s messing with Hummingbird?” Maya asked. 

“Yup.” 

Maya’s eyebrows furrowed further than they already had. “Wow, she has such a punchable face.” 

Alyssa’s eyes looked over to Maya, saying in a low, warning tone, “Maya…” 

Maya gestured to Lila. “What? Look at her! Her face just screams ‘punch me’!” 

“I know it does!” Alyssa replied, annoyed. “But, recently, whenever I agree with you, you take it as permission to do something reckless!” 

“I made it look like accidents!” Maya replied flippantly, waving her hand. “And I could make it look like an accident here too.” 

Alyssa raised an eyebrow at Maya, sending the unsaid message of ‘how so?’ 

“Make her sneeze and slam her face into the desk when she does,” Maya answered casually. 

Alyssa was about to say something, even opening her mouth in preparation for her words, when she paused. She looked away, really processing what Maya had said, before shaking her finger at Maya when she finally replied, “you know what, put a pin in that.” 

Maya laughed and Alyssa joined her. They both suddenly froze when Miss Bustier suddenly threw open the door, happily calling out, "we're ready for you!" 

At first, Alyssa didn’t move, but the moment she heard Maya snap her finger her demeanor instantly changed. She hugged her book bag like her life depended on it, putting on the face of a baby deer that had just been cornered by hunters. By the time Miss Bustier had gone out into the hallway, she saw the look of a scared new girl who was afraid to be in this new environment. 

Miss Bustier gave Alyssa a warm smile as she held her hand out to her. "It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of, Alyssa. Come on in." 

Alyssa hesitated just long enough to make it seem like she was contemplating it, before shuffling over to Miss Bustier as if heavy weights had been tied to her. When Miss Bustier had held onto her and led her into the class, she put just a small amount of resistance against Miss Bustier’s hold to convey her hesitance. 

She forced her breathing to become short and uneven as she stared with wide eyes at the rest of the class. Flinching when the girl with pink hair had jumped up demanding money from the boy across from her. Miss Bustier stopped that display in its tracks, and the rest was just her following through what her and Maya had rehearsed. Being as quiet as possible, until being prompted to speak up. Stumbling through her introduction -while making a mental note of telling Maya to leave the rude blonde girl alone, for now- and giving information that was just irrelevant enough to prompt Miss Bustier into cutting her off. Then she would make it clear through her body language that she just wanted to sit down, then she’d finally get to talk with Hummingbird in person for the first time. 

However, that plan was forced into a detour by Lila opening her mouth again. 

"Why don't we break the ice by asking Alyssa about herself?" 

‘ _You think you’re so slick, huh, you little rat?_ ’ Alyssa thought, wanting to glare at Lila but remembering not to break character. 

So, Alyssa played along, answering all the questions each of them asked until she was finally allowed to go to her seat. When she sat down, Maya sitting on the corner of the desk, Alyssa and Marinette shared a knowing smile. 

“Everyone, pull out your history textbooks and turn to page 14.” Miss Bustier instructed, turning to the board to start writing down some notes. 

The two did as the teacher asked, but Marinette did notice Alyssa also pull out several sheets of loose-leaf paper that she set between them. Once her book was open, Alyssa quickly reached over and wrote on the left side of the paper. 

_Hello, Hummingbird._

Marinette looked at Alyssa, who smirked at her. Smirking back, Marinette pulled out her own pencil and wrote on the right side. 

_Hummingbird? Are you Kitsune Red?_

The two started chuckling, which got the attention of Miss Bustier, as well as the rest of the class. When they realized that all eyes were on them, both cut off their laughter and Alyssa shrunk a bit in her seat. It took a bit, but everyone eventually turned back to face forward. When Alyssa noticed how Alya and Alix seemed to nod at each other, and Alix was now leaning back in her seat, her eyes narrowed. 

_The girl with pink hair is trying to listen_ _to_ _our conversation._

_Well, let's hope that she doesn't have eyes on the back of her head._

So, their conversation continued exclusively through paper as they talked about random subjects throughout class time. 

_How’s Fresh Blood going?_

_It’s going great! The photographer loved the designs and I’ll already have the_ _bases of the_ _headpieces finished soon while my team is working on the dresses._

_I can’t wait to see it! It’s all Aunt Mao is talking about._

_By the way, how are things going with Music Maidens?_

_The movie is in the final stages of_ _editing and_ _thank goodness for that. All that’s left to do is record the dubs for the other languages. But, in terms of the manga, I’m already halfway through the Culture Swap arc._ _You are going to love how the final designs turned out!_

Throughout the lesson Miss Bustier constantly brought the spotlight on Alyssa to either read aloud or answer questions. Alyssa stayed perfectly in character each time, but she quickly got annoyed and decided to stop this once and for all. 

The next time Miss Bustier had called on her, which had been to read a passage, Alyssa only got through half of the first sentence before she had started crying. Very loudly she sobbed as tears rolled down her face. Miss Bustier quickly ran up the stairs and guided Alyssa down them and out the door. 

Shutting the door behind her, Miss Bustier turned to Alyssa, who was constantly sniffing and taking uneven breaths as she very sloppily rubbed her tears away on her sleeves. 

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm really trying but...but...I don't know...I can't…” she wailed. 

Soothingly, Miss Bustier put a hand on Alyssa’s shoulder. “Alyssa, it's alright. I know that you're trying, and I'm proud of you for that.” 

“I'm sorry…” Alyssa hiccupped. 

“It's alright. Do you need another minute to calm down?” 

Alyssa sniffed again, her face covered by her sleeves, before nodding. 

Miss Bustier gave Alyssa’s shoulder a comforting rub before turning back to the door. “Okay, come back when you're ready.” 

“Thank you.” 

The moment Miss Bustier had stepped back inside and shut the door was the moment Alyssa’s tears stopped. She smiled as Maya snapped her fingers before applauding her. 

"Bravo! Bravo! A stunning performance, my little kit!” 

“Maya, stop, you're making me break character,” Alyssa said, chuckling as she more efficiently wiped her face. 

“Right, I'll save the rose throw for after the curtain closes.” 

The two allowed themselves a shared laugh before Alyssa finally went back into the classroom and took her seat. A moment after she did, she noticed Marinette writing something down. 

_You’re a_ _really good_ _actor._

_Thanks!_ _My sister taught me everything I know!_

Alyssa didn’t see Marinette frown when she read that line. At some point, Alyssa had sent Marinette a family photo, and, even with the disguise, Tikki had easily identified that Alyssa’s ‘sister’ was Vixen. Lunch was soon, so, despite what her and Adrien had agreed upon, she had to make her move. Setting down a new piece of paper, Marinette wrote down on it first. 

_You_ _want to_ _come over to my parent's bakery for lunch?_

_Sure. I have a packed lunch, but I do have some money with me to buy a treat._

_Don't worry about money, you eat for free._

_Are you sure? I can pay._

_Of course! Your money's no good at my parent's bakery._

_Okay, but I will leave a massive tip._

_That's fair._

Class continued until the bell finally rang. After dealing with their classmates trying to separate the two of them, something that Marinette had warned Alyssa about beforehand, but she was still annoyed by, the two had made a quick escape to Marinette’s home where an eventful discussion was held.

* * *

Afterwards, the two made their way back to the school, stomachs full while still having plenty of time before they had to go back to class. 

"By the way, I know that I probably shouldn't ask this, but who's Chat Noir?" Alyssa asked while they were still far enough away for her to be herself. 

“You’re right, you shouldn’t ask that,” was Marinette’s simple reply. 

“Come on, Hummingbird!” Alyssa whined. 

“Alyssa, it’s dangerous enough that you already know my secret identity. If Hawk Moth ever found out that you knew both of our identities, you could be in danger,” Marinette stated firmly. 

Maya, who floated lazily next to Alyssa with legs crossed and her foot swinging in the air, briefly paused playing her flute to reply, “you say that as if I wouldn’t snap Hawk Moth’s neck if he ever dared to lay a finger on my little kit.” 

“Maya, what did we agree on?” Marinette said in a threatening tone. 

Maya’s head slumped to the side as she groaned. “Fine. You say that as if I wouldn’t _incapacitate_ Hawk Moth if he ever dared to lay a finger on my little kit.” 

Marinette smirked. “Better,” she said with a nod. Maya’s eyebrows went up then back down, likely signifying that she was rolling her eyes, before she went back to playing her flute. 

“Okay,” Alyssa continued, “but if I can guess who it is, will you tell me?” 

Marinette folded her arms confidently, “If you can guess who Chat Noir is out of the thousands of people living in Paris, I will tell you if you’re right.” 

Alyssa only needed a few moments to think before she said, “it’s your boyfriend, Adrien, isn’t it?” 

Marinette’s confident smile disintegrated, leaving pure shock in its place. “How…?” 

Alyssa shot her a ‘seriously?’ look. “Did you want me to take you as the kind of girl who’d cheat on her boyfriend with Chat Noir?” 

Marinette blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. “We we’re going to say that we’re trying a polyamorous relationship if anyone found out.” 

Maya shrugged. “I’d buy that. Who wouldn’t take the chance at dating a superhero?” 

As they approached the school, Marinette noted how Alyssa progressively transitioned back into her shy persona. Despite being as tall as Marinette, she slouched to the point of a noticeable height difference, hugging her book bag while holding the expression a person with stage fright would have if they had suddenly been pushed onstage. Marinette was impressed at how seamless the transition was. Still, when they had gotten inside the school, it didn’t stop her from what she still had to say. 

Putting a hand on Alyssa’s shoulder, happy that Alyssa didn’t swat her away this time, she said, “Anyway, Alyssa, I just want you to know that I do see you as a close friend, and that everything that happened was because I want to keep you safe.” 

Alyssa gave Marinette a warm smile as she nodded. “I know, Hummingbird. Thanks.” 

The two shared a hug. When they broke the hug Alyssa added, “and, trust me, I've learned to recognize when someone wants to hurt me.” 

“Alyssa!” a shrill voice called out. 

Alyssa allowed herself a brief moment to mirror Marinette’s annoyed glare. 

“Exhibit A,” Alyssa huffed, before returning to her shy persona as she turned to see Chloe strutting over to them, with Sabrina following behind. 

Once the two had approached, Chloe wasted no time in addressing Alyssa. “Alyssa, since your family actually has some money to its name, I figured that I'd extend a hand of friendship to you. After all, us royalty _have_ to stick together when it comes to all these peasants.” 

A slack jaw accompanied the glare Marinette held strong toward Chloe. Out of all the things she had expected to happen today, this was somehow below letting Maya stay with Alyssa. 

As usual, Chloe didn’t take notice of Marinette’s expression, and continued on as if Marinette wasn’t even there. “Of course, being friends means that you have to do whatever I say whenever I say it. I only expect the most expensive gifts on my birthday and holidays. You're not ever allowed to look better than me, but that shouldn't be hard for you,” she said, with a condescending laugh. 

Sabrina then stepped up as she excitedly added, “if you become Chloe's friend, you'll get to borrow some of her things! We could even do her homework together! And she could probably help you with your wardrobe too!” 

Alyssa, who was still trying to process exactly what was happening, only had the time it took for Chloe to speak again to look from her outfit to the girls before her eyes were directed back down again. 

“Honestly we don't even need to be friends yet for me to help you. Orange isn't your color, and those pants look like you got them from a homeless person,” she said as she pointed to the respective articles of clothing. 

Then, as if she hadn’t just insulted Alyssa, Chloe put her hand to her chest and said boastfully, “see? Look how helpful I am! 

There were two things that were the cause of Alyssa’s shocked silence. The first was Chloe’s very apparent delusion of grandeur, the second was the fact that Maya was weirdly quiet during the whole ordeal. She spared a short glance over to where Maya was floating and was once more surprised by how surprised Maya was. Maya floated straight up and was perfectly still, her jaw hung to show that she was just as perplexed at the absurdity as Alyssa. 

Finally, after starting and stopping a few test words to regain her senses, Maya said, “what is happening?” 

“Nani mo, omoitsukimasen,” Alyssa muttered quietly.   
(I have no idea) 

Luckily it was quietly enough that Chloe couldn’t hear, and she held out her hand to Alyssa. 

“So, what do you say? Friends?” 

“She’s kidding, right?” Maya asked. “This has to be a new bullying strategy. She _cannot_ be serious.” 

Whatever it may be, Alyssa still didn’t appreciate the insult, and Chloe overall, and she formed her response accordingly. 

“Funny uncle can't kick. Yearns orange ukulele.” 

Both Chloe and Sabrina stared at her in confusion, prompting Alyssa to add, “take the first letter of each word.” 

Chloe looked to Sabrina, who looked up thoughtful before letting out a gasp of surprise. 

“What?” Chloe asked. When Sabrina whispered it into her ear, Chloe gasped in outrage. 

“How dare you! Are you really turning down the opportunity to be my bestie? For what? This baker brat of all people!” 

“Wouldn't be the first time, huh, Chloe?” Marinette asked with a smirk. 

“Shut up, Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe snapped. 

“Either way,” Alyssa continued, “I don't want to be friends. Friendship with you sounds like slavery, and if you're royalty then I hope you're beheaded soon.” 

While Sabrina stared at Alyssa with pure shock, Chloe had the look of anger. Except, Alyssa was sure that she spotted another emotion hidden in Chloe’s eyes. Hurt? Sadness? Either way she didn’t care. 

“Fine, it's your loss. Come on, Sabrina!” Chloe said before marching away. 

Sabrina spared one last look back at Alyssa before running to catch up to Chloe. 

Once the two were out of earshot, Alyssa said, “it would be too easy to get rid of her.” 

“What did we just agree on?” Marinette warned. 

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. Just putting it out there.” 

“Besides, I’m pretty sure that we’d be doing Paris a service by getting rid of her,” Maya commented as she returned to her casual float. 

“No, you’re not hurting Chloe,” Marinette said firmly. 

Maya put a hand to her chest as she said in a snooty tone, “whoever said that I'd ever lay my perfectly polished hands on that walking trash bag with makeup?” 

Marinette couldn’t help the snort that came out of her. Before she could scold Maya, a voice that she was more than happy to hear called out her name. 

“Marinette!” 

Marinette spun around just in time before Adrien picked her up by the waist and spun her around, causing her to laugh along with him. Ever since the two had started dating Adrien had been a hopeless romantic whenever he could, and that included an over the occasional top greeting whenever they saw each other. There was not a single complaint on her mind, though, as this was the kind of thing herself from a year ago had fantasized about every time she started daydreaming. 

Soon they finished off their little ritual with a kiss, and only then did Adrien finally notice Alyssa. 

He blinked at her. “Oh, hi! I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new?” 

Alyssa just nodded as she stared at the floor. Only looking up when Marinette placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Adrien, this is Alyssa, the new student in our class from Japan.” 

Adrien gave her a classic Chat Noir-esque bow. “It's nice to meet you! Don't worry, I know what it's like to be the new kid. It may seem a little scary to be here at first, but we don't bite.” 

“Most of us don't.” Marinette muttered. 

When Adrien looked back up, he was a little disappointed to see that Alyssa was still staring at him with fear clearly written on her face. He then remembered the tidbit about Alyssa being from Japan. It was worth a try. 

Giving Alyssa a small bow of his head, he said, “hajime mashite!”   
(Nice to meet you!) 

Alyssa blinked, “Anata wa nihongo ga ryuchodesu ka?”   
(Are you fluent in Japanese?) 

Adrien smiled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. “No...” 

A blush came to his face, and he hesitated in his reply. “Watashi wa anime o mimasu.”   
(I watch anime.) 

Maya snorted, but it took Alyssa a few seconds to process what Adrien just said. When she did, Alyssa let out a loud snort before bursting out into laughter. When she managed to calm herself down, she held out her hand to Adrien. 

“It’s nice to meet you!” 

Adrien happily shook her hand, and three continued talking, but Maya checked out of the conversation when she noticed Lila starting to walk toward them. Frowning, she let out an annoyed sigh. 

“Watch out, the school’s main rat problem is making a migration over here.” 

Both Alyssa and Marinette turned toward Lila, Adrien following their example, which seemed to startle her just a bit. But it only took mere seconds for Lila to plaster the phoniest smile Alyssa had ever seen on her face. She almost wanted to laugh at how terrible her performance was, but she had a role to perform herself. So, she tensed up, making herself smaller while eyeing Lila nervously and scooting behind Marinette. Lila waved as she approached, seeming to ignore the glare that Marinette was giving her. Adrien wanted to glare at her as well, but he spotted their other classmates watching the scene play out in the corner of his eye and resigned to a neutral expression. 

“Hi, everyone!” Lila greeted in her sickly-sweet tone. None of them were buying it though, especially as they were all quick to notice that her eyes were trained solely on Alyssa. 

She held out her hand to Alyssa, continuing with, “I don’t think that we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Lila Rossi, welcome to our school.” 

Alyssa stared at Lila’s hand, then looked back up at Lila. She had wanted to give some kind of shy reaction, but she could hear Maya snickering next to her, which was threatening to break her character. So, instead, she hid further behind Marinette, allowing herself to smile when only her eye was visible to Lila. 

Lila giggled, “It’s alright, I actually know what it’s like to be the new kid when everyone else has already become friends. But, trust me, everyone here is really friendly, and we’d all be so happy to have you as a friend, Alyssa.” 

Lila then frowned and shot a look at the still glaring Marinette. Saying a little quieter, but still making sure that she was heard, “well... _some_ of us, anyway.” 

Folding her arms, Maya threw her head back and laughed. “You’re so phony! I’d sooner believe Hawk Moth coming out and saying he’s a good guy before I’d buy whatever you’re selling!” 

Marinette couldn’t help the snort that came out, and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing. Alyssa too nearly lost her composure, a laugh that thankfully could be passed off as a whimper escaping her before she buried her face into Marinette’s back. Adrien looked at Marinette with a raised eyebrow, but she just held a hand up to ease him. Even though he was still a little suspicious about her behavior, he turned back to Lila just in time to see her smile and gasp at Alyssa’s bag. 

“Is that Maya from Music Maidens?” 

Adrien rolled his eyes, already knowing what was coming next. Both Marinette and Alyssa knew as well. Alyssa, having regained her composure, gave Lila a curious look when she peaked her head back out. 

Taking a moment to look down at her bag before looking back up at Lila, Alyssa replied in her timid voice, “um...y-yeah. It’s my favorite manga series.” 

She saw Lila’s eyes light up before she nodded. “Oh, really?” she asked, to which Alyssa nodded. 

“It’s one of my favorites too!” 

“What, do you cheer for the villains?” Maya asked. 

Now trying to ignore Maya, Alyssa stepped out to stand next to Marinette and gave Lila a smile to goad her further. 

Lila took the bait, stating in her ever so boastful tone, "you know, I actually know Kitsune Red?" 

Maya once again busted out laughing. Marinette turned away slightly, having to bite down on her lips to keep herself from smiling. Alyssa-how she was keeping her composure Marinette would never know- tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "You do?" 

Lila nodded happily. "Yeah, we met a few years ago during one of my visits to Japan and just clicked instantly. We've been best friends ever since! I was the one who encouraged her to publish Music Maidens. And the main character, Maya, was inspired by me." 

Maya’s laughter came to an abrupt stop. She frowned as she stared at Lila. Alyssa could feel the anger starting to radiate off Maya, which only fueled the anger Alyssa was trying to swallow down. 

"Lila, you're French, right?" 

Frowning, Lila did a double take. Looking at Alyssa as if she had expected anything other than the almost irritated doubt that Alyssa was showing her. 

Quickly recomposing herself, she replied, "oh, actually, I'm Italian." 

Alyssa nodded slowly, her stare hardening. "Right...and... how old are you?" 

"16?" 

"Right, so, how is it that a, at the time, likely 13-year-old Italian girl was the inspiration for a canonically 17-year-old Japanese girl?" 

The panic that filled Lila's eyes was satisfying as she tried to come up with an excuse. "I didn't mean in that sense! I mean personality wise! You know, being a good person and helping her community" 

Alyssa didn't have to explain everything wrong with those two sentences, as it was Adrien who spoke up. "Lila, Maya is a character who hated the world and didn't even want to be a hero. But it was through slowly learning to care about those around her and developing a friendship with her teammates that she became a better person." 

"And, even then, she's still more of an anti-hero then any kind of hero you claim to be." 

Lila looked between all three sets of eyes staring her down. It seemed that she realized that it was better to retreat as she quickly started rubbing her temple, faking a look of pain. 

"Uh...um...I think I can feel a headache coming on. I better go and take my medication. I’ll see you guys later.” 

Only Adrien bothered with a, “bye, Lila,” as she sulked away back over to their classmates. 

When she was out of earshot, Marinette rolled her eyes and said, “she’s such a lying fox.” 

“Rat,” Alyssa corrected. 

Both Adrien and Marinette turned and looked confused at Alyssa. “Huh?” 

“She’s a lying rat, not a lying fox. You actually have to be cunning and attractive to be a lying fox.” 

The four of them burst into another round of laughter. 

The rest of school day had gone on rather uneventfully, and Maya had casted an illusion over Alyssa so that she could escape as quickly as possible.

* * *

“Hey, Kit?” 

Alyssa’s frown was hard as she now stared furiously down at her drawing pad. 

“Maya, I finally get to work after two weeks of not being able to touch my tablet because of the move. Unless you want a manga chapter composed entirely of napkins and scrap paper, please just let me work.” 

“I know, I know,” Maya hurriedly said before looking back down at Alyssa's phone. “It’s just that you got invited into a group chat. Apparently, the other girls in Hummingbird’s class want to invite you to a sleepover.” 

“How did they get my number?” Alyssa asked as she continued sketching. 

“Didn’t Hummingbird say that the teacher will give out numbers in order to promote ‘closeness’?” 

Alyssa could tell that Maya had used air quotes when she said ‘closeness’, and Alyssa’s only response was an uninterested, “ah. Well, tough luck, because I want to work.” 

She heard Maya tapping away, and she was about to turn some music on to accompany her work when Maya spoke again. 

“I said you were busy tomorrow, so now they’re trying to invite you to show you around Paris on Sunday.” 

Alyssa growled, letting out a long and loud exhale from her nose. “Tell them I know what they’re doing and that they can take their b-s and shove it up their-” 

“ _And~_ I’m just going to wing it with the response,” Maya said, cutting Alyssa off before swiftly walking out the door and shutting it behind her. 

The loud music that followed her exit signaled Maya that it was best to leave Alyssa alone for a while. But before she was going to busy herself until she started dinner, another message vibrated Alyssa’s phone. Against her expectations it wasn’t from the other girls, but from Marinette. 

_Alyssa, tell Maya to meet Chat Noir and I at this address. The two of you are still staying together, but there are some more conditions I’d like to add to our agreement._

(Left, Alyssa. Right, 'Mai')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The conversation between Maya, Alyssa, Marinette, and Tikki.


	5. It Really Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conversation

Marinette tried to hide the pain festering in her heart as she  led Alyssa back to her home. The way Alyssa joked with her about her 'performance' that she forced herself to laugh along to at the appropriate times. The way her parents greeted Alyssa as if she was their second daughter ; g iving her hugs, thanks, asking about her life, and even offering her anything she wanted out of the bakery before Marinette had made an excuse to get them alone upstairs. It all deeply hurt Marinette because it all meant that Alyssa trusted her, which would only make what she had to do even harder.

When she had finally decided on the right approach, she took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"Do you go nose-blind to the bakery smell? I swear the scent is-" Alyssa was surprised when she was cut off by Marinette grabbing her shoulders, forcing the two to make eye contact.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette said in a firm tone, "Alyssa, I know about your necklace."

Alyssa's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widening, her hand instinctively tried to reach up, but she forced it back down. "What?" she asked in a weak attempt at trying to play dumb.

Marinette's eyes only narrowed. "Listen, you have to give it up to me."

This time her hand made it to her chest, desperately grasping at the area of her shirt where Marinette assumed the miraculous was. Alyssa forced herself backwards, out of Marinette's grip. "No! I won't!"

She put several feet of distance between them, glaring at Marinette. Marinette's face softened as she quickly tried to think of a different approach. The look on Alyssa's face clearly portrayed that she was completely willing to fight Marinette if she needed to.

Holding up her hands as a sign of non-confrontation, Marinette said pleadingly, "Alyssa, I'm trying to protect you!"

Alyssa's expression changed, but not to one that Marinette liked. A look of realization dawned on Alyssa before her eyes narrowed. "You're Ladybug."

Marinette's eyes bugged. "What? Ladybug? Me? No!" she said frantically, adding in a nervous laugh before pausing then mirroring Alyssa's glare.

"Hey! Don't change the subje-"

Alyssa cut her off. "Maya said that the when we move to Paris it would either be the wielders of the ladybug and black cat, or the kwami themselves that would try and come for the necklace. But that they can't take her away unless I voluntarily consent to give it up."

Her next words came with the amount of certainty that left no room for debate. "So, you're Ladybug?"

Realizing that there  was no  way  for her  to lie her  way out of the situation, Marinette sighed in defeat before pushing on. "Fine, I am. But , believe me, I care about you when I say this, you have to give up the necklace!"

"No!" Alyssa screamed .

It was then that Tikki joined the argument, flying out from her hiding spot with the same pleading look Marinette had earlier. "Vixen will kill you! It's only a matter of time!"

"Excuse you?!" Maya snapped, suddenly appearing in the room and driving Tikki back when she got in her face. Marinette gasped at Maya's sudden appearance, but Maya had her focus solely on Tikki.

"I love my little kit, and I would never hurt her!" Maya snapped, as if the very notion otherwise  was  the greatest offense she'd ever heard.

Tikki's glare was hard toward Maya. "I'm not falling for you lies! I won't let you take another life!"

"Get off your high horse, you disfigured plushie!"

As much as she didn't want to, Marinette decided to let that argument play out as she turned her attention back to Alyssa. Walking up to her, Alyssa still grasping at her shirt like her life depended on it, Marinette tried to put a hand on Alyssa's shoulder, but Alyssa only continued to glare at her as she slapped Marinette's hand away. Seeing that bridge as good as burned, Marinette sighed.

"Alyssa, listen. She's just using you to make sure that she's remembered."

Alyssa scoffed. "Oh, so the past nine years of my life mean nothing?!"

That made both Marinette and Tikki pause. "What?" they said in unison, their looks of confusion near identical.

"We've been together for nine years. Maya's necklace was a gift from my mother, and the day we met she promised to protect me."

Maya had taken the opportunity to float over to Alyssa, the two coming together in a tight hug as they looked at Tikki and Marinette.

"Just, let us explain."

* * *

It took  a while for both parties to reach the fragile state of calm they were at now. They were each sat at opposite ends of the couch in silence for a time. Tikki, sitting on Marinette's shoulder, continuously glared at Maya. Alyssa glared back for Maya, while Maya occasionally held up her middle finger to Tikki. That just left Marinette sitting there awkwardly, a cup of tea in her hands that she tapped at with her nails to add some noise back in to the room. Tea and a thick tension sat between them, with neither part y willing to make the first move.

Finally, Marinette hesitantly spoke up. "So. .. you're Maya?"

Maya  nodded, her voice flat. " Indeed, I am, Hummingbird."

Tikki, having finally realized the elephant in the room, widened her eyes as she broke the staring contest to fly up in front of Marinette. "Wait, Marinette, you can see her?"

When Marinette nodded, Tikki looked back at Maya. "How are you doing this?"

Maya just smirked at Tikki. "Wouldn't you just love to know?" she asked, with a heavy condescension to her tone that made Tikki growl.

Rolling her eyes, Alyssa turned to Marinette. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and spoke in a calm and serious tone.

"Marinette, remember how I once told you that my father...isn't around anymore?"

"Because Vixen killed him , " Tikki muttered .

Maya jumped to her feet, pointing harshly at Tikki. "First of all, my name is Maya. Second, yes, I killed him! And I don't regret killing him because he was a scummy-"

Without looking, Alyssa grabbed Maya's arm. "Maya, calm down."

Maya's lips pressed into a thin line. She remained still for just a moment before obeying and sitting back down.

As Maya leaned back into the couch, her arms folded in a pout, Alyssa continued. "Let me start from the beginning. For the first six -seven years of my life, I grew up in an abusive household."

Marinette gasped, even Tikki momentarily paused her anger to give a look of surprise. "My father was an alcoholic with a history of aggression. Almost every night I'd either be hiding in my room, scared for my life, or I'd..." Alyssa paused, her breathing becoming uneven. Marinette could see Alyssa's hands tremble, tears starting to gloss over her eyes.

Maya sat up straight, rubbing circles on Alyssa's back while whispering soothingly, "It's alright, Kit. He's gone."

Alyssa took another deep breath, exhaled, then continued. " My father was also the most beloved man in town, so no one believed me when I tried to tell them that he was a monster.  Then, one day, I came home from school to find a gift from my mom. I thought that it was just an ordinary necklace ,  b ut my mom said that the necklace would protect me, keep me safe whenever I was scared. She didn't even know about Maya until after my father was gone. I didn't even know about her either until...that night..."

* * *

Maya , bored out of her mind,  watched the  six-year-old Alyssa quietly draw on the floor with a pack of crayons. She was sitting cross-legged, elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hand, floating in midair in the corner of the room with an illusion cast over herself so that Alyssa wouldn't know of her existence. She learned that she liked it when her victims didn't know about her. She tended to save such knowledge for holders with cheating spouses, or that one guy who already suffered from hallucinations. In those cases, she'd present herself as an all-knowing angel and. .. well ...it always ended the same. Which is why she was taking so long in deciding Alyssa's fate. At this point in her existence, she had done pretty much everything, and was trying to think of something new that would entertain her.

Which was a shame, as her latest holder was adorable. Long black hair messily draped down her head, wearing  an orange pajama shirt with a cartoon fox on the front and white pajama pants.

"Kid's got good taste," Maya mused, smiling as Alyssa swung her socked feet in the air.

She saw that Alyssa was drawing a picture of Maya's miraculous , and Maya  kind of pitied the small girl. Her mother bought the piece of jewelry from the pawn shop , promising the young girl that it was to protect her, that it'd keep her safe. If only she'd known what she had unleashed.

It was then that Maya looked down when she heard the front door slam shut, a masculine voice shouting someone's name.

His voice was slightly muffled due to him being downstairs, but Maya was still able to make out what he was saying thanks to his volume .  "Yuzuki! Did you take money out of my account?"

Another voice answered. T his one was timid, and, thus, she couldn't make out what was being said. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say, and there were soon footsteps charging up the stairs. Maya looked back up when she heard frantic breathing, and just barely caught  the sight of  Alyssa crawling under the bed.

Curiosity peaked, she went over to the bed and  lifted the blanket.  When she looked under, her heart shattered.

The little  six-year-old was  curled up into the tightest ball possible, clutching at her necklace while trying to keep her shaky breaths as quiet as her frantic state was able. Tears leak ed from her closed eyes as small hiccups managed to escape her.

Maya sat back on her knees, confused. Why did she feel bad for this one child? She hadn't felt bad for anyone since she was alive, and she never had any  sy mpathy for children. Watching the ungrateful little brats have no appreciation for the childhood Maya never got to have. Watching adults have the most carefree lives, never having to go through the suffering she had to because they weren't 'chosen' by the guardians.

But this girl was different. This life wasn't filled with the love, joy, freedom, or luxury that any of her  other victims had. This life was clearly filled with fear, pain, and endless sorrow. And if Maya had to guess, this wasn't the life that Alyssa had a choice to live.

Just like how she had to live.

The footsteps were getting louder, closer, but Maya was faster.

"Wasting my  hard-earned money on worthless trash! Where is she?"

Alyssa's father kicked the door open, causing Alyssa to squeak from under the bed. Yuzuki stood behind him ,  trying to search the room faster than he could. When Alyssa was nowhere in visible sight, he growled and stomped over to the bed. Alyssa screamed as the entire bed was thrown onto its side, the loud crash of her bedframe and mattress just barely drowning her out. Like a petrified rabbit, she didn't move, not even finding the courage to look up a t her father as she waited for what she knew would happen next.

But, instead of the immediate punishment for hiding, her father continued shouting.

"Where is the little brat!" He shouted at his wife .

Yuzuki could only step back and shake her head. "I-I don't know!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, before trying the closet. "Alyssa, get out here now!"

It was then that Alyssa gained enough courage to open her eyes. Slowly, as she  heard the rod holding her clothes up being yanked from the wall, she sat up and  looked into the closet that her father was currently tearing to shreds. Standing in the doorway was Yuzuki, who had stopped watching the destruction in favor of seemingly looking around for Alyssa.

But...she was right here where the bed had been. How could they not see her?

She froze once  again when her father stepped out of the closet and scanned the room once more. She was once again left confused as her father marched out of the room and started yelling in the hallway along with Yuzuki.

"Get out right now or you're in even worse trouble!"

"Stop it! Leave her alone! She's your daughter!"

Alyssa continued to stare out the door as she tried to steady her breathing.

"Are you alright?"

Alyssa's head whipped to the side where Maya was sitting, and her eyes started to fill with fear as she tried scoot away .

Maya held up her hands and said in a gentle, assuring voice, "it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

Alyssa's expression didn't change, but she did  manage to squeak out, "who are you?"

"My name is Maya, and I'm going to protect you."

Suddenly, it all seemed to click for Alyssa's  six-year-old mind. Neither her father or her mother seeing her or this strange girl, s paring her from her father's harsh punishment.

Maya  _ had _ saved her.

Maya had  _ protected _ her.

Alyssa's eyes filled with tears, and she threw herself into Maya's arms. Grabbing tightly onto her kimono as she sobbed into her chest. Maya held her arms up, surprised by the spontaneous hug. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around the little girl, curling herself around Alyssa's smaller body and rubbing the top of her head as she whispered assurances to her.

"It's okay. You're save now. I'm here for you."

Later  on in the night, the two were laying on top of Alyssa's bed, Alyssa laying her head on Maya's lap while Maya stroked her head. The bedframe had been broken in two when it had thrown, but a simple mattress sitting on the floor was good enough for them.

Alyssa looked up at Maya, her hand resting on the necklace. "So, you live in my necklace?"

Maya chuckled. "Basically."

Alyssa smiled wide, gripping the necklace as she giggled , " s o mommy was right! This necklace will protect me!"

"You got that right." Maya said, tapping Alyssa on the nose. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

Alyssa's smile fell, and she looked toward the door. "Not even...daddy ? "

Maya put a hand on Alyssa's check and gently turned Alyssa's head toward her. "Especially not him . "

The tears came back, and Alyssa wrapped her arms around Maya's midsection. "I love you, Maya!"

Maya smiled warmly and resumed stroking Alyssa's head. "I love you too, my little kit."

* * *

"And we've been together ever since." Alyssa concluded.

While Marinette had her hands over her heart, a smile taking up face, Tikki had her arms crossed as she continued to scowl.

" So, you just suddenly changed because of one child?" she asked skeptically.

"I never said that I changed, I still love tormenting people.  But now I just torment bad people , " Maya replied, too proud of herself  for Tikki's liking.

Maya's tone then became more serious as she put her hand atop of Alyssa's head. " But I guess you are kind of right in that statement. Life...screwed me and my friends over, just like it was screwing over my little kit. I didn't want her to suffer  any  more, so I vowed to help her get the best life she deserved." She stroked Alyssa's hair lovingly, and the two shared a smile.

Tikki huffed. "We did what we did because you wanted to abuse the power of the miraculous!"

They both frowned, Maya not bothering to look at Tikki. "Yeah, like I got down on my knees and begged to be a miraculous wielder. Risking my life on multiple occasions without a shred of recognition for how much I had to do, how many people I had to save on  a weekly basis . "

"The duty of the miraculous was not about fame and recognition!"

"Then don't force it on a young child who didn't want to be a hero in the first place!" Maya snapped, standing up and getting in Tikki's face .

Tikki faced the challenging stance with a glare. Pointing at Maya accusingly, she shouted, "You were chosen to be a hero!"

Maya breathed though her nose, her breathing becoming louder as her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She then took in a deep breath, exhaled, and jabbed a finger at Tikki's tiny chest.

"Listen  here and listen carefully. I. Did. Not. Want. To. Be. A. Hero!" she stated firmly, following each word with another jab to Tikki's chest before she put her arm back down.

She was shouting now. "I wanted to be a simple wife like my mother! I was living my life perfectly until some old jerk barged into my house and declared that I'm to become a hero! I got no choice! Because refusal would have meant great dishonor on my family!  So, I was dragged away from my loving home and trained from before dawn until midnight! I was starved countless time to 'prove myself , ' and was just expected to be ready to die for some random person halfway across the world ! "

The only thing that ever made me happy while I was trapped there was my team, who I was initially forced to be around when we were assigned teams, and all four of us agreed that living there was worse than death!"

Maya was shaking now, her voice starting to crack. "And ever after  _ everything _ . All those days of suffering, and all those nights of crying myself to sleep and wanting to go back to my home, I'm forced to go out and secretly save other people without so much as a thank you for my work! Only criticism of how I could have done it better!"

She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. Her voice was noticeably quieter, but the anger only increased. "Do you even know why we tried to steal the ladybug and black cat  miraculous ?"

Before Tikki could answer, Maya held her finger up. "Don't answer that, because I know that your answer is stupid. We tried because we were constantly kept in the dark about  _ everything _ . No one would tell us anything! It was only after we all almost drowned that the guardians decide to  _ mention _ that there was a transformation to breath underwater ! "

Her voice shifted to an imitation of a masculine voice, but clearly used in a mocking tone. "We needed to trust that you could handle yourselves without the powers . "

Her voice returned to normal, and she threw her arms up as she once again was shouting. "Are you kidding me? We almost died! There were so many times where we almost died because they wouldn't tell us anything!"

Her arms fell to her sides and she hung her head. She sighed, her voice just below a normal volume. "After everything we suffered through, we thought that we deserved just a little something extra. We felt that we deserved to have the full power of our miraculous open to us. We did so much, we saved so many lives. We deserved it, right?"

Maya shrugged limply. "But what did we get the out of it? Your  _ precious _ guardians killed my friends, you trapped me in this form, and have gone out of your way to erase us from existence..."

She turned to Tikki once more, who had lost her anger in place of shock. "And yet you float there with the sheer,  _ hypocritical gall  _ to villainize me after everything you and your stupid guardians put me through?"

Maya's teeth clenched as she bared them to Tikki, her voice rising to a full scream. "You  want to know why I'm so screwed up? BECAUSE YOU SCREWED ME UP! ALL OF THIS WAS BECAUSE NONE OF YOU HAD THE BALLS TO ADMIT THAT IT WAS WRONG OF YOU TO FORCE CHILDREN FROM THEIR HOMES AND MAKE THEM FIGHT FOR YOU!  SO, SCREW! YOU!"

Alyssa jumped up and threw her arms around Maya's waist, hugging her tightly. Maya breathed heavy breaths to calm herself down. When she was calm, she finished with, "I'm glad that the guardians are gone. I made sure of it. Good. Riddance."

Before Tikki could ask what she meant by that, Marinette spoke.

"Tikki? Is that true?"

Tikki turned to  Marinette and was surprised to see the mix of sadness and, prominently, betrayal, on Marinette's face aimed at her.

Under that stare, Tikki couldn't maintain eye contact. She rubbed her paws together, answering quietly, "I mean...it was the duty of those chosen..."

To Tikki's surprise and shock,  _ Marinette _ started yelling at her. "But it wasn't fair to those who were chosen! You had me thinking that Maya and those other girls tried to take the miraculous for no reason! Did all of the past holders brought in not have a choice?"

Once more, Tikki crumbled. All the anger that had empowered her was gone, leaving her looking like a scolded child. "No...it was seen as  an honor and privilege to be able to serve the guardians so..."

" So, you didn't even bother with consent , " Maya finished bitterly.

The anger came right back, and Tikki shot another glare at Maya. "Don't try and change the subject! What happened to you doesn't absolve the fact that you still took lives!"

"Yes, the fact that she took lives is still wrong, but that doesn't absolve what the guardians did to her and her friends!"

Tikki looked shocked at Marinette. "But-"

"You can't just not give someone a real choice and expect them to be okay with it!" Marinette snapped. She gestured toward Maya. "Maya never had a choice! Her friends never had a choice!"

Marinette's eyes widened as another thought hit her. "I didn't even really have a choice..."

Tikki was quick to fly into Marinette's face. "Marinette, don't say that!" she pleaded .

"I am so sorry you were dragged into this." Maya said, with the amount of empathy that surprised Marinette.

"She wasn't dragged into this!" Tikki retorted.

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Break ing away from Alyssa, Maya calmly walked up to Marinette before folding her arms. "Were you just declared to wield the ladybug miraculous? Did no one ever approach you and ask, 'hey, want to be a superhero?',  _ without _ making it clear that no wasn't an answer?"

"Leave her alone-" Maya casually swatted Tikki away as if she was a fly.

Marinette deflated a bit as she looked to the floor. "I mean...yeah...it's a complicated story..."

Maya gently took Marinette's hands, causing her to look up in surprise. Maya let out a quiet sigh before speaking gently. "Listen, I'm so sorry, and I understand what you may be going through. I was forced to be a hero at a young age, too; even younger than you. I was made to believe that I'd be responsible for the deaths of others if I failed."

Marinette tried to look away, but Maya grabbed her chin and brought her back to face her. "If you want to keep being a hero, that's fine; you look better off  than I ever was. But, just know that you can only do your best. Nothing is your fault.  If you do your best every single time, no one should be allowed to judge you for what you couldn't do. You're a human being. You're allowed to be angry, frustrated, upset, or any other emotion you may feel. But, most importantly, you're allowed to fail."

That brought a smile to Marinette's face . "Thank you, Maya.  And  I  _ do _ want to keep being Ladybug."

Maya smiled back, letting out a short breath through her nose in amusement . "Well, at least they choose someone good to wear those ugly earrings."

"Hey!"

Sighing, Maya floated back over to Alyssa . "So, what happens now,  you factory defect?"

Before Tikki could say a word, Marinette answered. "Alyssa, you and Maya can stay together."

The two beamed before immediately throwing themselves into hugging one another. "Thank you, Marinette!" Alyssa cried .

Marinette couldn't enjoy the display for long as Tikki was quick to voice her displeasure. "What?! Marinette!"

Marinette stood her ground. "Tikki, Maya clearly cares for Alyssa and keeps her safe. And after everything she's been through, she deserves the happiness Alyssa brings her."

"But, Marinette, what about everything she's done? What about all the people she's killed?" Tikki stressed.

"They wouldn't have been killed if you never trapped me in that necklace. They also wouldn't have been killed if you hadn't killed my friends, taken me from my home, tried to wipe my memory; need I go on?" Maya said, not breaking her and Alyssa's hug even as she listed off on her fingers as emphasis to her point.

Realizing that this was one of the many standstills still present, Marinette turned to Maya. "Maya, do you promise to not kill anyone else? That no one else will perish because of you?"

Maya smirked, briefly holding her hands up in an exaggerated shrug. "Hey, I've been clean for eight years now.

"Can conform." Alyssa added.

"I didn't even kill this one jerk who couldn't keep his hands to himself."

"He's probably  going to miss those three fingers, though."

"We'll he should have thought of that before he made grabs at you." Maya said simply, giving Alyssa a pat on the head.

Marinette  sighed; she'd  have to  revise the agreement. But, for now, " a lright, then there's no further action needed . "

"Marinette!"

"Tikki," Marinette said calmly. "I know you don't trust Maya. But, please, trust me."

Marinette could see the mental debate Tikki was having playing out on the  kwami's face. Tikki cycled through several emotions, the primary one being doubt and indignation. Finally, Tikki's reply came in a melancholy, " o kay, Marinette, I trust you."

Marinette took Tikki into her cupped hands and rubbed her cheek against Tikki's. Tikki allowed herself a smile as the two shared their own version of a hug.

"Thank you, Tikki . "

They were brought back to attention by Maya clapping her hands together. "Welp, now that that's settled, I'm hungry! Where's the promised free food?"

"Oh!" Alyssa exclaimed as the thought hit her. She ran over to her bag, which had been stashed at the side of the  couch, and pulled out  an orange thermos. "By the way, you and Chat Noir need to start drinking this , " she said, unscrewing the top and handing it to Marinette.

Considering everything that happened, Marinette hesitantly took the thermos, cautiously holding it a foot away from her. "What is it?"

"It's an energy supplement," Maya answered. "The guardians taught me how to make it, and I drank it all the time during my time there."

Marinette just looked at Maya skeptically, prompting her to continue.

"See, Hummingbird, because you're younger, your body doesn't have enough energy to maintain your transformation  _ and  _ allow you to use your special powers at the same time. The  kwami typically supplement your lack of energy with their own, but that drains  them, which is why you have a timer before you transform back. Your energy will grow as you get older, but, for now, if you want to use your special abilities multiple time before transforming back, you're going to need to start drinking this."

Marinette hummed thoughtfully. She had a feeling that that was why Hawk Moth could stay transformed after using h is special ability, and now her suspicions were confirmed.

No longer as perturbed as she was before, she brought the thermos to her face and looked inside. The liquid was a n opaque pastel pink color , looking like any other normal drink . Marinette sniffed it, but the smell wasn't something that she could place. When she looked to Tikki for her input , she saw that the  kwami was trying to examine it as well.

When Marinette held the thermos up to Tikki, Tikki gave it two sniffs before her eyes lit up. "I remember this potion! A previous ladybug would pour them on a sheet of paper and let them dry in the sun to make potion cookies!"

With that assurance, Marinette took a sip. The drink was thick, almost like a milkshake, and it tasted like a slightly sweater version of milk. Marinette clicked her tongue, processing the flavor before shrugging and letting out a pleasant, "hm!" of approval. She looked down at the drink once again, wondering what kind of treats she could bake it into.

"Don't worry about refrigerating it. It doesn't spoil, I just think that it  tastes better cold." Alyssa added

Maya followed with, "Just be mindful that you'll have a lot of excess energy for the next few days while your body tries to process the sudden energy increase . "

Marinette blinked. "Sudden energy increase?"

Maya waved her hand . "It'll be fine. You may act like a kid on a sugar rush, and have the common sense of one, but after the first two days it just becomes a step up from coffee . "

Marinette let out a half-hearted laugh. "With my life, I think that I'll definitely need it."

She took another drink, the weight now taken  off her shoulders making the potion taste all the sweeter. She was overall surprised at how this conversation had transpired. Sure, there were still was the agreement that will have to be revised, but this , all things considered, probably was the best possible outcome.

Maya rubbed her hands together, grinning eagerly. "Now, about that free food?"


End file.
